Shinobi Justice Vol 1
by Kodachi Claws
Summary: When the most dangerous criminals from two different worlds team up, it's up to two new generations of heroes to stop them.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! Somewhere along my insane imagination, this idea popped up. And unlike my other crossover...I think this one actually has some basis, with the idea of future generations/young heroes being a prominent theme in both Young Justice and Naruto.

There are just two important things readers should know. This fic won't have a regular update schedule, unless I actually manage to finish my other fics. So, to compensate for that, I'll try to update this fic with arcs rather than chapters whenever possible. Not much compensation, but it's all I've got. Second, while pairings will be more or less canon on the side of YJ (though for characters without definitive pairings I'm going to take liberties), on the Naruto side, in the long run, it will be...noncanon. Sorry, Kishi. I really wanted to go along with what you put down on paper, but I still don't understand how you arrived at the conclusion that you did, and the spoilers for The Last are not helping. AT ALL. For those of you who are bothered by that, I understand. For those that are not familiar with Naruto and wondering why that's going to be the case...long touchy story. Basically, the most likely pair he was developing was a deliberate mislead (FOR 15 F***ING YEARS!). But since this first volume is going to cover Part 1 of both series, the relationships are not going to be that off.

So, I hope you all enjoy. And the other chapters are much longer than this first one, I promise.

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><p>In an undisclosed location, two men met. At first, the meeting began through hostility. Both men proved to be worthy combatants, yet one could not overcome the other. One was unkillable, the other almost untouchable. Seeing that they were at a stalemate, they agreed to a truce.<p>

The scared one who encountered the masked stranger from another world took him to his personal home. The masked man noted the scared one's home was rather ancient; it was filled with paintings, weapons, and torture devices not of this world's current era. But that was not important. He was then offered a drink by the scared man. He turned it down, saying he wasn't much of a drinker. The large man scowled at him, as if offended, but let it go and drank it himself. Soon, they began sharing their world's knowledge and secrets; they both came to the conclusion that their ultimate goals were intertwined and could benefit each other. On that day, a partnership was formed.

The scared man then directed his masked guess to another room containing some kind of contraption. "Here. Using the same energy signature you used to come to this world, and the residue remaining on your body, I can eventually send you back."

The masked man had no reason to believe he was lying. "Thank you. I'm sure this will lead to great things, Mr...um..."

"Savage." the other man replied as he smiled. "Vandal Savage."


	2. The Bridge

The two worlds, at their core, were similar. Both were populated by the sentient species known as Homo Sapiens, or humans. Both planets had diverse climates and similar biological life. And both were home to warriors of great power; some used their powers for good, others for their own personal means, and others for evil.

One was home to the ninja, an entire world dedicated to their culture and power. While many of these ninja were encouraged to use their skills for justice, the main priority of all ninjas was to protect and serve their villages. The villages resided in many countries, but were governed independently of their host country. The Five most powerful villages developed the Kage system, in which the village leader would be recognized as the direct link between the village and the outside world. This has lead to both competition and cooperation with many villages. Some, however, pledge no allegiance; some become missing nins, ninja who have abandoned their homelands to pursue their own goals. Some are just muscle for hire while others become grave threats to their world.

The other world once had a similar culture, but only in one small country, which has since moved on and sees their version of ninjutsu as an antiquity. Now, technology guides this world. This version of earth has seen the rise of many warriors over thousands of years, the ninjas being only one of many. The most recent were the rise of "Super Heroes". These individuals pledge allegiance not to nations (though it is generally a prerogative by them to uphold the laws of each recognized nation) but to ideals. And no two superheroes were alike; each have different methods, different skills and tools. Some operate out in the open, others prefer not to be seen. Some have trained their entire lives to obtain their skills, others were just born with them. Some weren't even from this world! One group of heroes came together, and formed the Justice League, dedicated to defending the laws of their world and its people.

Though the groups of these two warriors are different, they do share one similarity: training children to develop their own skills and fight alongside them. While this has been a long tradition in the ninja world, the hero world has only recently (and reluctantly) began to take on apprentices dubbed by their civilians as "sidekicks".

And it seems a group of young ninjas will be meeting these "sidekicks"...

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><p>In the ninja world, a man crouched over a balcony, reading his book. Even when off-duty, he was dressed in his work clothes: sandals, a black uniform that covered his entire body along with a green vest over his torso containing all kinds of tools. He also had on his hiate, or metal band with the symbol of his village. In his case, it contained a spiral engraved in the metal, with a point on the left. There was one other unusual feature about him: his mask, covering all but his silver hair and right eye. His name was Kakashi Hatake, one of the village's most powerful jonin (elite ninja). He also went by another name: the copy ninja. Thanks to a gift from a friend, he had duplicated many techniques over the years, making him powerful enough to rival even the Kage-level ninjas on the continent.<p>

"Enjoying it, Kakashi?" a voice from above said. "I put a lot of hard work into that one."

Kakashi didn't flinch as the man behind him leaped from the roof onto the stand. He was quite tall, well over 6 feet and had a more muscular build than his younger peer. He wore wooden geta on his feet and had a green kimono with a red shawl over his shoulders His hair was pure white, spiky and tied in a pony tail, giving him a lion-like look. His most distinctive features were probably the red markings trailing down from his eyes like tears of blood. He was known of Jiraiya, one of 3 legendary ninja who originated from Konoha village.

"I'm not exactly a picky reader when it comes to your books, Jiraiya." Kakashi replied as he closed it. Truth be told, he collected all of them; he was probably Jiraiya's biggest fan in that particular line of work. "But I take it you didn't come here for a critique, right?" he asked as he turned to face him.

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "Perceptive as ever. You know the organization, Akatsuki, right?"

"The one Orochimaru used to be a part of? Yeah, I remember." Kakashi replied, referring to Jiraiya's rival and former teammate.

"It seems they're finally stepping into the light, becoming more active. And I'm worried...especially concerning two of your students." Kakashi had a good idea of whom he meant. "First off, there's Itachi."

Kakashi frowned under his mask. "Sasuke's not ready...I'm not sure he ever will be..."

Jiraiya continued. "Second, I'm not clear on the details, but it seems they're after the Kyuubi."

Kakashi's face would have looked even grimmer than before had his mask allowed it. "We better not tell him. He'll only want to face them head on..."

Jiraiya frowned as he cupped his face in disappointment. "Kami. I was hoping he developed a bit more of his father's tact, but it seems he really does take after his mother." Jiraiya's scowl turned into a grin. "Still...it might be a perfect opportunity to further his training."

"It will have to wait." Kakashi suddenly announced. "Though we don't have a new Hokage yet, we're still being sent out on missions by the council. Missions no genin should have to take, with or without their instructors."

"That desperate?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"That desperate." Kakashi confirmed. "Run your plans by the council anyhow, although I doubt they'll approve of you training him..."

"Actually, my official explanation would be quite practical to their interests." Jiraiya said. "I figured just dragging the boy along with me would be a perfect time to do so when I'm ready."

"Okay then. Just visit him when you have the chance."

"There is one more thing...it's not clear exactly what Akatsuki is doing right now. But rumor has it they're going about 'bridging the gap between worlds.'". Kakashi only looked at him more confused than before, which Jiraiya waved off. "It's probably just some weird saying they came up with, a motto. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Perhaps. But this is Akatsuki we're talking about; we can't take that chance." Jiraiya nodded in agreement as Kakashi then stuffed his book into his vest, and with grace and strength that took a lifetime to achieve, he leaped across rooftops like a bird in flight.

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><p>OCT 26 2010<p>

0:900 UTC

WATCHTOWER

In the world of heroes, a large space station that looked like an ordinary building embedded in an asteroid traveled along the planet's orbit. Inside, heroes of all shapes and colors gathered, either lounging about, monitoring activities across the planet, or in the case of one, following up on previous investigations. He was tall and muscular, but not much about his actual features could be seen except for his chin, as his costume covered his entire body. The suit was a dark gray costume of kevlar, while the other extremities such as the gloves, boots and cape were black. His mask had two sharp "ears" while his cape ended in jagged edges. His gauntlets spikes along the wrists, and around his waist was a yellow belt. In the center of his chest was a bat symbol. He was the Batman, also known as the World's Greatest Detective and the Dark Knight. He was a man of few words, and intimidated almost anyone who came into contact with him, even those who had superhuman abilites.

"Reviewing another case?" The man who stepped into the room was regarded as Batman's complete opposite. Like Batman, he was tall and muscular. However, the similarities ended there. His face was completely uncovered, showing his black hair and blue eyes. His costume was a lot more colorful too. It was blue with a red cape and boots. It also looked like he was wearing red briefs on the outside, which led to the running joke among the public about superheroes wearing long underwear for clothes. The symbol on his chest was supposed to have been an alien symbol for hope, but to most earthlings it looked like the English letter S. He was Superman, widely regarded as the most powerful being on earth. Despite his god-like status, he was also probably the most humble and friendly of the entire super hero community. And despite their disagreements at times, the two were known to work together very well.

"The watchtower detected some kind of energy spike." Batman explained, not bothering to look behind him.

"How bad?" Superman asked as he leaned over his shoulder for a better look at the data.

"Can't say. It occurred twice, and both times were very brief. Though there were traces of Zeta radiation, both sites were mixed with many other energies. I'm still working on isolating a few of them." Batman replied as he continued typing in commands.

Just then, a message on the computer showed up, coming from an individual named Captain Atom. Batman opened it, and a new window popped up, showing what seemed to be a man completely covered in white plastic staring at him. **"Captain Atom to Justice League. There are reports coming in of several top-tier villains acting up across the globe. Their presence at this time is not code red, but it is cause for concern and must be dealt with." **

"Acknowledged. Send me the coordinates for each and I'll send in teams accordingly." Batman replied. A satellite picture of the entire globe was displayed as red dots marked their targets and details. "Superman, it seems Metallo is acting up in New Zealand. I'll need you and Wonder Woman there."

Superman groaned at the prospect of having to face Metallo; not one of his favorites. "And you?"

"It seems Ra's Al Ghul is in Egypt. I'll be there shortly. But first...I need to call in the team." he said as he got up to leave.

* * *

><p>Ino Yamanaka was considered the prettiest girl in her class. Her blonde hair and stunning eyes certainly helped. For all her good looks, however, she couldn't get the attention of the boy of her dreams. <em>"Oh well. Some day, Sasuke-kun will be all mine!"<em> she grinned maniacally in the mirror as she brushed her recently shortened hair. She dressed in purple, which seemed to be more for attention than for practicality...and that was exactly what she wanted. Most ninja hardly relied on camouflage colors to hide nowadays anyway.

Just then, a knock came on her door. "Ino-chan!" her father called. "Asuma's here! It's time for your mission!"

"Coming!" Ino put her brush away and ran down the stairs as she prepared to do her duty as a kunoichi (female ninja) of Konoha.

* * *

><p>STAR CITY<p>

09:15 UTC

"Quick! Close the door!"

4 masked crooks had successfully managed to open a vault from behind an alley with no surveillance and loot the money inside without tripping an alarm. But, if experience was any indication, that was only half the battle. When it Star City, you never knew just what could happen...an arrow coming your way for one thing. One of the hoodlums slammed the truck door closed and smacked it, indicating they were ready to go. "Okay, that's a-" Suddenly, something fast flew by his head as he was knocked to the ground.

"The Arrow's here!"

Quickly, they took out their weapons, and scanned the horizon. "I see him!" one shouted as he fired his machine gun, but his target gracefully cartwheeled out of the way of the trajectory. The man in question wore a green tunic and hood, much like a legendary hero from long ago. In addition, he sported a blonde goatee and a black mask across his face. His most unique feature, though, was the quiver of arrows and bow her carried. He was known as Green Arrow, a member of the Justice League with a penchant for archery.

"Stop staring, you idiot! Take him down!"

Before any of the thugs could get a chance to fill his body with lead, Green Arrow pulled his bow and sent another arrow his way. Unlike the last, which was blunted, this one exploded and sprung a green net. In less than a second, the thug was bound, unarmed, and on the street like a potato sack.

Of the remaining 2, one grabbed his partner and pulled him into the van's driver seat."Put the petal to the metal!" he shouted.

"But Daryl...we can't just leave him there..." the new driver protested.

"It's him or us! Now move it!" Just then, what seemed to be tar smeared the windshield. "Crap!" Another arrow came in and literally exploded on contact with the front tire.

Realizing they had been foiled, both crooks ditched their ride and tried to escape on foot. The driver suddenly felt his legs tied up by bolas. His partner stopped dead in his tracks as he recognized the person in front of him.

She was young, probably no more than 15. She was covered in a more modern military-style green suit with an arrow head on her chest. Her face was covered in an open green mask, and she kept her blonde hair tied in a pony tail. She was Green Arrow's newest sidekick, Artemis, named after the Greek Goddess of the hunt. "Robbing banks!? Seriously!? Could you guys at least TRY to be a little original!?" she quipped.

The crook took his chances and tried to knock her out with his fists, but Artemis closed the distance first and punched him in the gut. Despite the significant age and size difference, the man keeled over, leaving him open to an ax kick to the head.

As he slumped down, Green Arrow joined his protegee on the ground. "Good work, kid."

"Thanks." Artemis replied. "Was it normally this boring here when Speedy...I mean, Red Arrow was with you?" Truth be told, lately missions were more exciting with the "team" than with her mentor.

"No..." Green Arrow answered as he cuffed Artemis's punching bag. "But trust me, you'll prefer the boring stuff in time." He turned around as he listened to the approaching sirens. "We're done here; let's head out."

"Right."

Just then, Green Arrow pressed the communicator in his ear as it alerted him. "Green Arrow here...really? OK, understood. I'll let her know." he released the device, signing off.

"What?" Artemis asked.

"I need to head out to Russia." Green Arrow explained. "And you're needed at the cave."

* * *

><p>Back in Fire Country, a rogue ronin peaked out of the bushes to make sure it was safe. Figuring now was the best time, he leaped out and made a break for it. He carried with him an ink painting that he stole from his own damiyo right under his nose. He figured he'd sell it, make money, and get the heck out of there. Suddenly, he found himself paralyzed; all he could move was his eyes and mouth. "W-what's going on!? What happened!?"<p>

"I did." The thief found his limbs moving against his will as his body to turned around to face his apparent captor, who was a boy of no more than 13 at best. This boy wore a gray jacket, fishnet undershirt and shorts containing various pouches. His dark hair was tied in a straight pony tail, and he had a somewhat bored expression on his face. "In truth, though, you brought this on yourself." His name was Shikamaru Nara. He had a reputation in the village for being the laziest genin (lowest ranking ninja) but no one could deny his brilliance. "That doesn't belong to you..." Shikamaru said. "Now drop it."

He made a motion as if he held something, stretched out his arm, and opened his closed fist. The rogue made the same motions at the same time, and lost his treasure. He then noticed their shadows were somehow connected. "What the-?"

Then, Shikamaru's shadow receded, and the rogue could move again. Not that it would do it much good; a blow to the back of the neck knocked him out cold before he could so much as blink. A man with dark hair and a beard with the standard ninja attire of this world stood over him, and slung him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. "Good work, Shikamaru." his mentor, Asuma Sarutobi, son of the late Third Hokage, said.

* * *

><p>PACIFIC OCEAN<p>

UTC 09:15

Somewhere, far in the ocean of the other world, a Japanese ship tore across the sea. It's purpose was whaling...however, this was a tricky business with several regulations. Seeing that whales were an endangered animal, the maximum cache for kills was very low. Not to mention ever since a once mythological kingdom was now given a voice, it complicated manners of the sea even further. That didn't stop the wealthy demand for what was considered a delicacy in their country, and this ship in particular was going well over it's maximum quota over the past few months. The captain of the ship calmly sipped his tea as he monitored the radar. A pod of Right Whales were ahead, and they were closing in on them. The captain took the radio and said "This is your captain speaking. We are closing in on the prize. Prepare the harpoons and the net."

The crew got ready to nail one. The harpoon flew...and suddenly the waves rose, slowing the giant arrow. Then, as if by magic, the water pulled itself back to sea level, the sudden force snapping the harpoon's cord and taking the spear with it. The captain's eyes widened as he grabbed the radio; he had a feeling he knew what was going on. "Get the ammunition! Quickly! We're about to have intruders on board!"

As soon as he gave the order, he saw another whale on the radar, this one coming towards the ship. While it was slow, the ship and it would collide soon if he didn't turn it around. However, if he turned around, the ship could risk losing its prey. Deciding to risk a confrontation with the league's oddest member, he pushed forward. Soon enough, the whale was right next to the ship, and jumped. What appeared to be two men hung on, and jumped from the whale, landing several stories below without so much as an injury upon landing.

The first one looked like he came from the West. Over 6 feet tall with short blond hair and a thick beard, he was powerfully built as well, and would have been exemplary as an art piece in many European cultures. He seemed to wear an orange shirt and green pants with fins, both of which seemed to be covered in scales. The other was dark-skinned, as if he was from Africa. His blond hair was not even an inch long, but covered his entire scalp. Also distinguishing him from the other was what appeared to be gills protruding from his neck. He was younger than the other, a teenager who only stood approximately 5 ft 7. In addition, he sported tattoos like snakes down his arms. His attire was similar to the other, but colored red and blue, and looked more plastic than organic, though his pants also sported fins and was barefoot. He also had a pack with two protrusions sticking out. They were, respectably, Aquaman, King of Atlantis, and his own sidekick, Aqualad.

"(Turn back)!" Aquaman commanded the crew in Japanese. "(You are violating international law, as well as the terms set by my kingdom! Do so peacefully; I do not wish to bring anyone harm)."

However, if it meant getting paid, the whalers were more than willing to bring them harm. A crew member snuck up behind them, wielding a flamethrower. They heard from an American mob in Metropolis that Atlanteans were vulnerable to extreme heat. As one prepared to take position, Aqualad noticed him in the corner of his eye. "Look out, my king!" Aqualad unleashed one of his water bearers, unleashing a whip made of water. The whip tangled the nozzle, and pushed it to the floor as the flames seared the metal hull.

"(If you've chosen to fight, so be it!)" Aquaman leaped into a crowd of sailors. Though they tried to subdue him with numbers and belted him with various instruments that could crack a normal man's skull, Aquaman's skin resisted them all, and he shrugged them off with ease as he beat them down like flies against a horsetail. Aqualad was having similar success, having felled 3 grown men with a kick, and transforming his water bearers into bats. It seemed none of the crew would have any success in attacking them directly. One of the sailors managed to get the drop on Aqualad and wrap a chain around his neck. Strong as he was, the neck was still a vulnerable point on Atlanteans as it was for humans. He knew he wouldn't allow him to choke him for long, and his partner got back up with the flamethrower to burn him. "Aqualad!" Aquaman punched one sailor out of the way, digging his hands into a metal panel and tearing it off as if it were mere aluminum foil. He flung it at the wielder of the flamethrower, cracking his ribs and knocking him out cold. Aqualad, finally gaining some leverage, pulled the chain closer as his tattoos began to glow blue. An electrical discharge poured from his body, along the metal and into the sailor, as he screamed and passed out. "Are you alright!?" Aquaman shouted as he ran towards his protegee.

"I am fine, sire. I've had worse." Aqualad, or Kalduron as he was normally called, smiled.

Aquaman placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Of course. How silly of me." He looked up towards the hull, where the captain was staring back at him, wide-eyed in fear. "Come. We have a captain whom we need to discuss important matters with."

"Aye, my king." Aqualad saluted by bringing his fist towards his temple.

As they made their way over, Aquaman heard the communicator in his ear go off as well. "Aquaman here." he replied as he pressed it. "Uh huh...understood. I'll Zeta to India as soon as I'm finished here. And I'll send Aqualad to the cave as well.

* * *

><p>"Lee!" Mighty Guy was one of Konoha's best taijutsu (hand to hand combat) fighters, though he was also known as one of the oddest jonins to walk the planet (and in this world, that's saying a lot.) With a dark bowl cut, a large nose and teeth, and most noticably, his green leotard suit, he was certainly an odd one, to say the least. But none of that ever concerned him. What did right now was the recovery of his favorite pupil, who fashioned himself in Guy's own likeness. Or was, until an injury during his chunin exam crippled him. "How's my favorite pupil doing!?" he yelled inside the apartment, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.<p>

"Gai-sensei!" Lee hobbled out of his room, going as fast as his crutches would take him. "What brings you here?" he asked, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

Gai did his best to keep himself from crying at the sight. It was a small comfort to him to see Lee still wearing the green suit he gave him, even though he didn't and wouldn't be exercising for a while. "To see you of course! I've got just the thing to make you stronger!" he practically yelled, desperately attempting to mask his own sadness.

He suddenly set down a huge bowl of dark buns on his kitchen table, which Lee only looked at skeptically. "What are those!?"

"My own personal snack! Just one of these will make you that much stronger, and help you recover faster!"

Lee only stared at them; they looked disgusting. But with Gai going out of his way to help him...Lee couldn't refuse. He picked one up, and took a bite. Lee's cheeks seem to explode as he forced himself not to spit it out.

"Think of it as training, Lee! These spicy buns will help maintain your pain threshold! Plus, they're three times more nutritious than broccoli! That's why their taste is so off!"

Lee, noticing his teacher did not lose any enthusiasm, forced himself to swallow it. "There!" Gai exclaimed proudly. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Lee suddenly grabbed more, which caused Gai to stand in alarm. "You idiot! You don't have to eat them all at once!" On the inside, though, Gai was smiling. Lee hadn't given up on recovery; so neither would he.

* * *

><p>CENTRAL CITY<p>

09:20 UTC

Central City was having a quiet day, it seemed. For one teenager, he felt he needed a little bit of quiet. He was lean, with freckles and red hair. He also sported a cast around his right arm. His name was Wally West. He was also known as Kid Flash, partner of the fastest man alive. Granted, he didn't appreciate the fact that his injury was holding him back. But he had already pulled some stunts with the cast on; he tried his best not to make matters worse. He decided he should make the most of his free time and spend some of his allowance. His double-life as a super hero in training made him forget some of his passions, and led to him saving up a ridiculous amount of cash for a teenager his age.

"_I heard Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is out...maybe I'll see if I can get a good deal." _Wally walked into a Gamestop, and began browsing. Just when he thought he found his prize, something shook the building. "Aw, come on!" Wally moaned. Quickly, though not as quickly as he could, he ran out of the store to look outside. _"Crap. Not him."_ A comical-looking man with pointy side-burns wearing a green and yellow stripped leotard stood atop a giant toy top, tearing its way through the road. In case you couldn't guess, this man's name was the Top. Wally was really trying to stay out of trouble to allow his arm to fully heal. But... _"Duty calls..."_

Faster than anyone could see, Wally ran out of the public eye, at least 200 mph, as he went into a secluded alleyway. He suddenly spun like a tornado. In 3 seconds, he emerged seemingly a different person. He was covered in yellow body armor with red gloves and boots. His chest bore a lightning bolt, and his ear pieces resembled them too. On top of that, goggles sat above his eyes as most of his face was covered in a yellow mask. Minus the cast, this was the true appearance of Kid Flash. "Alright. Let's get this over with." he told himself as he took off again.

Kid Flash raced out and caught up with Top on the road. "So, bank robbery!? Resisting arrest!? McDonald's brought out the McRibs again and you're trying to beat traffic!?" he kept asking excitedly.

The Top looked down, and gawked. "You-!" He quickly composed himself. "No matter. The real Flash is occupied, and without him you should be a piece of cake!"

He tossed several seemingly normal toy tops from his hands, which landed on the ground, keeping up with Kid Flash. Suddenly, they enlarged, protruding saw-like blades. "Aw, come on!" Though it took some effort to do so, he dodged each of them without so much as a scratch on his suit or his cast. "Listen, I can see you're having a bad day, and I'm not in the mood for this! Why don't you just surrender and we'll get this over with...cause you know how this is going to end."

"I do, as a matter of fact." Top proclaimed. "Your obituary in the paper!"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "So be it." Quickly, before Top could throw more weapons at him, Kid Flash raced ahead of him, far from his eyesight. Almost too fast for the human eye to see, he raced into a four story building, up a flight of stairs and onto the roof. Using the momentum to carry him, he launched himself into the air, and landed on Top's giant...top. Of course, the top of the top did not actually move; it would have thrown off Top otherwise (AN: does this sound as stupid as I think it does? My bad)

"You made a grave mistake coming up here!" Top exclaimed.

"You made an even bigger mistake being a crook!" Wally suddenly made a motion to run away from him, but even as he moved his legs, stayed in place. As his legs continued to move faster and faster, the top of the...vehicle, began to move.

"What!? What are you-" Top didn't get to finish as he was thrown to his belly and forced to hold onto dear life as the roof began to spin. In an opposite direction of the rest of the machine. "Stop! It will-" Before he could finish, sparks flew off the edges as the machine overheated; KF's make-shift treadmill was ruining all the gears and circuits inside. The unusual vehicle began to slow down significantly as it finally came to a halt.

Then, it exploded, throwing Kid Flash off his feet. "OH CRAP!"

However, before he hit the ground, a red blur ran by and caught him. He was a tall, athletic man dressed in a costume similar to Kid Flash's, but the coloring was opposite his (mostly red) and his mask only exposed his chin. This was the true Flash. He was usually one of the more easy-going members of the league, but at this moment he gave Kid Flash a stern look. "KF, we talked about this." he whispered to him

"And I agreed, remember?" Kid shot back. "I didn't want to get involved, but it didn't seem like you were coming, so I had to. If the shoe were on the other foot, I'd imagine you would leap into action just the same as I did."

Flash rubbed the back of his neck, having no comeback for that. "Point taken. I guess it's a moot point anyway; you're needed at the cave."

Kid Flash's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what? I thought I was on sick leave!"

"I'm not happy about it either." Flash agreed. "But Batman says you're needed, as support. I'm not clear on the details myself, but just head on down there, okay? I need to stop by Zimbabwe. I don't know the how or why, but Captain Boomerang's down there."

"Do we even have a Zeta tube in Zimbabwe?" KF asked in surprise.

"The one in Johannesburg's the closest. The rest will be a cakewalk for me." Flash winked, and took off at a speed Kid Flash could never hope to match.

"Show off." he muttered.

* * *

><p>Kakashi, like many of his peers, was on a mission. However, for this mission, he had to bring with him his genin team, comprised of three members. He saw great potential in each of them, but most of the time they were quite dysfunctional. Still, when they pulled it together, they could accomplish anything. Besides, Kakashi had a connection with the two boys on the team, though he did not let that be known.<p>

Kakashi suddenly signaled for his team to halt as they came into the middle of a field. "Some one's watching us!" He whispered.

"Then, let's take them!" one of the two boys shouted as he flung a kunai into the bushes.

Kakashi resisted the urge to face palm himself. The one who had the most potential was also the most difficult to work with, as well as being a total idiot most of the time. "Too late now. Everyone! Attack formation!" As he said the words, rogue ninja and samurai jumped out of the bushes. They didn't look like too much of a threat, but a cocky ninja was a dead ninja. That worried him about that same particular member of the team as well, but he would just have to do his best to be there for all of them. All 4 members of Team Kakashi broke off, each covering one another by thinning out the numbers of their attackers.

While the attackers knew not to underestimate the kids, it was naturally hard for them to do so. "The little girl is ours!"

The one they were talking about wasn't what most would think of as "ninja". Aside from the fact she was a girl in her early teens, she was short and skinny. She also sported bright pink hair, green eyes, and a red blouse and black shorts. Again, not exactly intimidating. The girl in question was Sakura Haruno. And though she was not Konoha's finest kunoichi, she strove everyday to improve...though not always for the right reasons. "Sakura!" Kakashi called. "Be careful!"

Sakura was way ahead of him; she knew her limits, and knew how to work around them. Making hand signs necessary to perform ninjutsu, she gathered her chakra (life energy). "Bushin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, two more Sakuras appeared at her side. Each switched places, making sure to hide the real one. "Piece of cake!" One rogue exclaimed. "My swing's good enough to cut down all three of them at once!" He did as he exclaimed. The two bushin evaporated at contact...but where there should have been a real body, the rogue found his katana embedded in a log. "Damn it!" This was the art of substitution, where the ninja would pick a random object and switch places with it without being noticed.

He anticipated the attack, but he reacted too late. Sakura was already behind him, knocking him out with a chop to the back of the neck, a blow that even the largest of men could not resist very well when done correctly.

Another, however, got the drop on her as he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her. "So, tell me, you little tramp; how do you choose to die?" Sakura did not answer; instead, she bit down on his hand, causing him to drop her. "Ow! You'll pay for that-" He stopped as he noticed the explosive tag on his hand. "Oh sh-" The paper on his hand blew up, resulting in severe pain and a nasty burn.

"Yeah!" Sakura shouted as she pumped her fist in victory. "Shannaro!" (AN: For those wondering what that means...it's gibberish) However, Sakura spoke too soon it seemed; suddenly, a pair of weighted bolos tangled her feet, causing her to trip.

"Sakura-chan!" one of her teammates yelled. Two young boys around her age rushed to her aid...

* * *

><p>HAPPY HARBOR, RI<p>

UTC 10:00

Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. A nice, quiet community in the Northeastern United States. One would think that none of the world's superheroes would bother living here; crime rates in this area were among the lowest in the country. However, one who had no place else to call her home stayed and attended school here.

To those who thought they knew her, she was a cute teenage girl with long brown hair, freckles, a good figure and charming face. Her personality, while a bit on the ditzy side, was also warmly received as friendly and witty. They called her Megan Morse. Her real name though, was M'gann M'orzz. And currently she was just finishing up with cheer practice. "Whew!" Megan exclaimed as she drank some water. "That was a tough workout!" she exclaimed.

"You're telling me." said another teenager with short, black hair, Wendy.

"Well, I'm rather not have Mal guilt trip me come the next game." said a black girl named Karen, referring to her boyfriend on the football team. "Though the Hornets don't deserve to win the championship if their only redeeming quality is their cheerleaders." The girls chuckled at her wisecrack.

"Well, I'm in the mood for a burger." one of the girls said. "Who's with me?"

As the others raised their hands in agreement, M'gann was about to do the same, but a voice in her mind caught her attention. And no, she isn't crazy. She's just not from this world (this specific earth, to be exact). _"M'gann. I'm sorry to interrupt your extra-curricular activities, but Batman has set up a mission for the team. You are to report to Mount Justice at once." _The voice was of her Uncle, an extraterrestrial alien called the Martian Manhunter.

Though M'gann was disappointed, she understood the mission came first. _"I understand, Uncle J'onn."_ Megan suddenly grabbed her bags and stood up. "I'm sorry, guys; something just came up. I'll see you all for practice next time!" As she exited the school grounds, she made sure she was not followed as she walked into a secluded area in the park. From there, a transformation took place. Though her shape and hair remained the same, her Caucasian skin became green. Her clothes morphed as well; what was once a white blouse and blue denim skirt grew a red x over it, and a cape appeared from behind. Her sneakers became blue boots as well. This was another form of M'gann: Miss Martian. If you didn't pick up on the names as of yet, she was quite literally from Mars. She immediately turned transparent, almost invisible to the naked eye and flew up into the sky, towards a single solitary mountain on the peninsula. _"Must be pretty serious to call me away from my friends."_ Miss Martian noted.

* * *

><p>As Sakura braced herself for an attack, a large windmill shuriken suddenly flew in front of her assailants, forcing them to jump back or risk decapitation. "Why don't you try your luck with me? I'm a far worthier opponent!" Grabbing the large weapon as it came back, stood a young boy just entering his teens. His hair was spiky and black, with matching eyes. In addition, he wore a midnight-blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. On the back of his shirt was a symbol resembling a fan, red and white. He was Sasuke Uchiha. More rogues attacked, but the boy proved to be incredibly fast. In no time, he knocked down several grown men with one blow with precise strikes. He threw several shuriken; while none got in a fatal blow, they all crippled his attackers.<p>

"Sasuke-kun, look out!" Sakura suddenly screamed.

Sasuke back flipped away from a katana aimed for him. He dodged, but noticed a trickle of blood escaped his cheek. _"He actually got me!" _A sudden fury filled him, as he brought his hands together. "Katon! Goukakyu no Jutsu!" His cheeks expanded, and like a dragon, he spewed flames at his attackers. Though none were killed, they all stopped, dropped and rolled. After they put the flames out, none were in the mood for a fight.

"Great job Sasuke-kun! You're the best! Sakura screamed as she raised her arms in the air. If you couldn't tell by now, Sakura was madly in love with Sasuke. If the feelings were mutual, Sasuke didn't show it. In fact, he just outright ignored her as he inspected his slight wound.

"_It's no good. It's not good enough..."_ A shadow in his mind flashed, showing blood red eyes with intricate markings. _"I'm still not good enough!"_

"Teme, watch out!"Sasuke failed to notice a large man with a kabano sneak up behind him. He raised it, and prepared to crack the genin's skull..."

* * *

><p>METROPOLIS<p>

UTC 10:20

Metropolis. A city said to represent the best of America, with one of the highest employment rates in the country, leading innovators in technology, and many other aesthetic accomplishments. Still, like any other place, it wasn't perfect. Certainly not on this day.

One blonde-haired reporter was about to explain why as she held up her mic and looked straight into the camera. **"This is Cat Grant here, live at Metropolis City Hall! What you are witnessing is a tense hostage standoff, where one lone man has taken the entire city council at gunpoint! The man is identified as Robert Dubois, an Iraq War veteran. Relatives of the gunman say he has suffered from severe PTSD and has a history of mental illness. His demands are to commemorate his brother, also a war veteran, pardon him, and entitle him to an unspecified fixed income. However, time may be running short; assuming the police even give into his demands, the bureaucratic process could take days, if not more. With no sign of Superman, it's likely this could become a violent blood sport." **

Suddenly, everyone looked up. Normally, this would mean the arrival of Superman. Today, though, they would have to settle for the next best thing. What seemed to be a large motorcycle in the air descended near the police, flying like a vehicle from the Jetsons, containing two passengers.

One was a large white wolf, easily the size of a tiger. Bits of muscle were showing around it's shoulders, but they did not appear to be wounds, as the animal was not in any apparent pain.

The seemingly human occupant was a different story. He looked to be a 16 year old boy. However, for his age, he was rather tall, nearing six feet. His build was impressive as well; it looked as though he could easily take on a grown man. His short black hair would make girls think of him as something as a heart throb. His pants were rather plain, sporting combat boots. But what really drew everyone's attention was his shirt. A black T-shirt with Superman's S-symbol. This was Superboy. Though not in the same league as the Man of Steel, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

He and his pet Wolf walked over to the cop in charge. "What's the situation?"

"Back off, kid." he replied, believing him to be an ordinary teenager. "There are hostages up there, and it looks like he's going to blow someone's brains out any second! I don't have time to deal with punks playing superhero!"

"Yeah, I can see that." Superboy replied, staring straight ahead into the building. Of course, no ordinary person could do that with their eyes from his position. His telescopic and infrared vision combined gave him a better scope of things, including what the madman was carrying, his location and the hostages. "Wolf." he ordered his pet. "Go around back. Make sure he doesn't see you." The mutant wolf did as he was told while Superboy waited.

"Whatcha gonna do, kid?" the cop asked again. "Get-"

"What Superman would do." was Superboy's only reply as he pushed his way forward past the yellow tape.

Suddenly, he leaped 40 feet into the air and through a wall of solid marble, the impact having no apparent effect on him. Dubois pointed a Gatling gun at him as he realized he was no longer alone; Superboy wondered where he got such a thing. Even stranger to him, this man seemed ready for battle. Outfitted in combat pants and boots, he also wore a simple t-shirt with strips of ammunition wrapped around him, and sported a bandana concealing his face. He looked like he came straight out of a Rambo movie, and had Superboy been human, he wouldn't be sure if he could take him on in a fair fight. "Easy there." Superboy said, softly but authoritatively putting his hand up. "I don't want to hurt you. What say you put the gun down."

"Put the gun down? PUT THE GUN DOWN!?" the crazed veteran screamed. "All those damn pigs in the white house asked us to do was to pick things up, and KILLKILLKILL! My bro and I...we protested! We suggested there was a better way..."

"And then you were discharged, I imagine." Superboy guessed, sympathetic but not backing down.

The man gave him a crazed look. "Threatened, yes. So we kept doing it. They wouldn't let us go that easily; we were the best in the field. Once they were done with us...they threw us out like trash, and put all the blame for their mistakes on us! Took us both to court martial, and bro hanged himself!"

Superboy's hearing could hear his heartbeat; it was steady. _ "He's telling the truth." _Superboy felt for this man; he obviously suffered from a terrible wrong. "I believe you. Just put the gun down. I have friends who can help you right this terrible wrong you have suffered. No one else has to die because of this."

The man seemed conflicted, but gave into his anger. "All will suffer as long as I do."

He then aimed his Gatling gun at Superboy and fired. Though the teen was thrown back against the wall, what would have blown a normal human to bits instead felt like a hornet's nest on him; not one drop of blood appeared on his torn shirt. "Enough!" Superboy ran towards him, blocking the bullets, and grabbed the gun out of his hand like he was a toddler. The weapon was made of solid steel, but Superboy bent it like it was made of plastic.

Dubois elbowed his head...and nearly broke his arm. "Ahh!" he yelled, falling to the floor in pain while Superboy didn't even seem to realize they made contact.

"Give up! It's over." Superboy told him as he grabbed him and pulled him up.

Dubois only snarled. "I guess you're right...it is over!"

He held up a detonator; Superboy guessed it was rigged either to him, the hostages...or the entire building. "Now boy!" Wolf suddenly burst through the door and clamped down on Dubois' hand, forcing him to let go as he yelled in pain. As Dubois held his hand in agony, Superboy crushed the detonator to scrap, and said "Be glad he didn't take your fingers along with it." He turned back to scratch his pet's head. "Good boy."

Later, as the hostages were escorted outside by him, he approached the cops who put Dubois in the back of their car in cuffs. "Take this." Superboy said as he handed the cop a voice recorder. "I suggest you listen and get the FBI to investigate this matter. And that man needs a hospital...not prison." The cop only stared at him skeptically. Then, without another word, he got in his car and took off. Superboy only ran a hand through his hair. "Jeez. Just trying to do what Superman would do." Seeing his t-shirt was now in rags, Superboy looked to Wolf. "Come on, boy. Let's go home."

As he boarded his "Super Cycle", or Sphere as he liked to call her (long story), he noticed he had a message from Batman.

Pressing the play button, it said **"Superboy. Report to the cave at once." **

Superboy sighed, and looked to his biological companion. "Ready for another go, Wolf?" Wolf barked eagerly in response. "Okay then." Superboy smiled. "Take us up, sphere." The cycle suddenly levitated off the ground and took off to the east at a speed to match jets.

* * *

><p>As Sasuke prepared to counter, someone else butted in and kicked the large man down with a surprising show of strength for someone his size. Much like Sakura, most would not think "ninja" upon seeing this boy. Those who thought they knew him wouldn't think so either. He was roughly the same age as Sasuke. In contrast to his rather dark companion, he sported wild blonde hair, and blue eyes. His cheeks looked like they had whiskers. In addition, he was covered from the neck down in an orange jumpsuit. This was Naruto Uzumaki; he had (just barely) graduated at the bottom of his class. Most didn't expect great things of him, but these past few months, he had made amazing progress.<p>

"I had it completely under control!" Sasuke shouted.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back as he got his kunai ready and prepared to defend himself.

"Hey!" Kakashi yelled as he kicked another down, still being able to observe the team under his charge. "Less fighting each other, more fighting them!"

Naruto silently agreed, and put his fingers together in a cross-like formation. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Clouds of smoke erupted all around him, and suddenly there were a dozen, if not more Narutos. They each attacked the rogues independently. None seemed to be particularly weaker than the other, and those that were hit evaporated back into smoke.

"Clones!? Is that all you're good for!?" One missing nin drew his ninjato and cut each attacking clone down, one by one. Making sure to keep track of the real Naruto since he created them, the rogue quickly approached him and raised his sword. All Naruto had on him was kunai, and Kakashi feared he wasn't ready to block such weapons with just that.

However, before the ninja could complete his attack, a rock under his feet exploded in smoke and suddenly transformed into another Naruto bushin lying on all fours. The rogue tripped over him, dropping his weapon and falling face first in the dirt. Naruto wasted no time, summoning more bushins and leaping into the air. "Uzumaki Naruto Redan!"

The clones dog piled him, attacking the offender everywhere at once. Then, they each kicked him up into the air, while the real Naruto leaped up with him and slammed him back to earth with an axe kick. In no time, the thug was a bruised and bloody mess. "This...is...humiliating..." were his last words before passing out.

His fellow teammates looked on in awe. Kakashi, for one, was quite pleased with what he saw. Naruto was starting to use the unpredictability he was famous for with his pranks in practical combat. _"There you go, Naruto...you really can do anything once you put your mind to it." _

Sakura, though she would never admit it out loud, was also quite impressed. In fact, ever since the chunin exams she had begun to see Naruto in a new light. _"He is getting stronger...maybe Sasuke-kun was right about him saving me from Garaa..." _

Sasuke indeed remembered that battle that Sakura was thinking of; she was unconscious, but Sasuke witnessed it first hand. he knew today Naruto wasn't even using a fraction of the power he was capable of. He always respected his determination to be his equal, and hoped one day to fight him...but he feared he may have surpassed him. And if he couldn't beat him, how could he hope to beat Itachi? The very thought of it deepened his scowl, and he gripped his kunai so hard his hand trembled.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke whirled around, preparing to defend himself from another ronin, but a fireball from the other direction burned the attacker before he got close. "Stay on guard!" Kakashi warned as he joined his genins and threw his kunai at would-be attackers. "Everyone!" Kakashi made Kage Bushins of his own, and surrounded the kids. "Behind me! Now!" Though Naruto and Sasuke preferred not to be protected, they both learned to obey their sensei when it came to battles and did as they were told. What bandits remained held their weapons up. However, they dared not approach; slowly, their trembling became obvious, and quickly they took off screaming. "It's always rather refreshing when rogues do the smart thing, don't you agree?" Kakashi asked his students. Though his face was covered by a mask, one could tell he was smiling by the way he closed his visible eye.

While everyone relaxed their guard, Naruto only pouted in frustration. "I wish they stayed!" Naruto shouted, earning an exacerbated look from everyone. "I still have a bunch of cool moves I'd like to try out!"

"Naruto, the best battles are the ones not fought." Kakashi said, trying to be as zen-like as possible.

"Well, that's a stupid saying. Who the heck came up with that!?"

"Kurata Shuzo, you baka!" Sakura suddenly shouted at him. While Sakura had slowly learned to get along better with Naruto overtime, he still tried her patience constantly.

"Never heard of him." Naruto replied smugly.

Sakura face-palmed herself. "Of course you wouldn't have."

"Well, now that that's over with..." Kakashi said as he put away his weapons. "...we can continue on with our mission. Let's go." Without another word, his genin also relaxed and followed their leader.

"I still don't see what the big deal is about a scroll." Naruto muttered. According to Kakashi, the council gave them a mission to retrieve it. Nothing else was said to him.

"It isn't just any scroll, Naruto." Kakashi warned him. "It's the ancient Scroll of Seals. I'm sure you're familiar with it."

"I am?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Of course; it's the reason why you were allowed to graduate from the academy in the first place." was Kakashi's reply.

Naruto remembered; an academy teacher tricked him into stealing the scroll so he could steal it for himself and put the blame on Naruto. It was from that scroll Naruto mastered his signature technique that even some jonin had trouble with. It was also the day he had learned the terrible secret he himself carried...

"Anyway, we should get going. The bandits stole it while Oto and Suna attacked. And they've had quite a head start; if we don't hurry, I fear the worst."

* * *

><p>GOTHAM CITY<p>

11:00 UTC

Gotham City. Once one of America's most prosperous metropolitan areas had been going through a tough time. Economic depression, political corruption, and rising crime-rates changed the city drastically over the years. It was among the Top 3 most dangerous cities in America, and the city struggled with job creation. However, over the past decade the city had been on a small but steady upswing. Criminals were afraid to go out at night, and some citizens predisposed to a life of crime began to turn their lives around. This was the city of Batman; both civilian and criminal would tell you you don't screw with Batman. EVER. However, like many of the other heroes we have visited, he was not alone in this fight.

On this particular day, a bank was suddenly being robbed. All the perpetrators wore black masks that covered their entire faces, yet it did not seem to impede their vision as they forced everyone to the floor and pointed their weapons. The leader barked the usual orders for everyone to freeze while his men blew open the vault. Using an assortment of complicated machinery and explosives, they forced it open, looking at millions, if not billions inside.

"Hurry!" one ordered.

"What're you scared of? The Batman doesn't come out this early..." another teased as he stuffed as many bills as possible into a duffel bag.

"That's a goddamn myth, and you know it! Now hurry it up!" the leader yelled.

Just then, a boy's laughter filled the room. "Did some punk kid get lost or something?" one of the robbers asked. Just then, two wires latched onto one of the men's torso, where he suddenly convulsed as an electric current paralyzed him.

"It's the bat!" The others drew their guns, but red objects came flying at them and knocked their weapons out of their hands. Next thing they knew, a small explosion spread green gas in the room, causing everyone to choke and tear up. One by one, something beat them down to the floor and tied them up.

"What's the hold up!?" Their leader shouted, carrying his shotgun. Upon seeing his fallen comrades, he panicked. The laughter came up again, and the leader frantically pointed his gun everywhere. Finally, it too was knocked out of his hands by a red disk. He would've a breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his assailant, but quickly realized it was over once he recognized this kid.

A 13-year old boy faced him, falling just short of five feet. He was rather lanky, too. He also sported black pants, a red sleeveless shirt with an R where his heart was, dark gloves, a yellow belt, and a cape that was black on the outside, but yellow on the inside. He also wore a domino mask that seemed to stick to his face. The only other visible feature was his smooth dark hair, two bangs protruding. And then that smile; that obnoxious, grating smile a teenager gives you when they know they've just owned you. This was Robin, also known as the Boy Wonder. Not only was he Batman's sidekick, he was also one of the first and most experienced sidekicks as well. And he was going to prove it again tonight. "You know, you should just give up now. We both know how this is going to end." he warned him, never losing his grin.

The crook only pulled out a stiletto knife, his "common" sense overriding his instincts, telling him not to be afraid. "Fat chance of that, little punk."

Robin, in response, pulled out two escrima sticks from behind his back. "Why is it always a fat chance? That always sounds like a sure thing! What's the point if we already use slim chance to convey the same thing?" Robin had a habit of questioning the use of the English language, often making up new words.

"OH, SHUT UP!" The thief charged, ready to fill the boy with holes. Robin, however, had no such plans to let that happen today. As the robber thrust, Robin quickly flipped over his arm and clocked him in the head with a kick.

Following through, he slammed a stick into his knee, uppercut him as he knelt down, and quickly use the sticks to add a bunch of black marks under his clothes all over. The gang leader finally hunched over, having trouble breathing. Wasting no time, Robin got behind him and cuffed him. Just as the sirens had finally reached earshot, Robin flipped across the furniture, reaching and leaping out of the window, firing his grappling gun and onto the roof. He hung around to make sure the embarassingly ineffective GCPD had everything under control.

Just then, his earpiece began to ring faintly. It was a call from home, though not in the way most teens experience it. Pressing his fingers against his ear, an old man with an english accent spoke. **"Master Dick. I presume you're not too busy."**

"Just finished up here Alfred; go right ahead." he replied.

"**Master Bruce requests your presence at the cave Not the Batcave; the other cave". **

" Great. Tell him I'll be there." Robin hung up, and disappeared into the setting sun.

* * *

><p>THE CAVE, HAPPY HARBOR, RI<p>

UTC 11:20

"**Robin. B01. Access, Granted."** A tube glowed as bright as the sun as Robin in uniform suddenly appeared in the entrance. The Zeta tubes allowed for instant teleportation anywhere on the planet, but only the Justice League and their associates could use them, as they did not share the technology with the outside world.

Robin walked into the middle of the structure, waving hello to his comrades. All were in uniform, Including..."KF? Don't you think you should sit this one out?"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Ask Batman about it. Says I'm needed." Everyone agreed it just didn't feel right when he was still recovering from a serious injury. And his cast would make him more of a target than usual.

In the center of the team's base, Batman stood with the rest of the team. Aqualad was in front, as he was the team leader. As Robin took his place, Batman began. "Enemies of the league have been acting up all over the world." he explained as he got a holographic projection of the earth running, red dots marking several locations. "It's too many at once to be a coincidence. We believe these are all elaborate distractions."

"Distractions? Distractions for what?" Robin asked.

Batman pressed a holographic button on the computer, and a yellow dot showed up in a chain of islands called Japan. "We have detected several energy spikes on Okinawa. We believe that our enemies are trying to keep us distracted while they conduct some kind of experiment. We've seen similar energy readings before; it is of the same type detected in Bialya last month, and from the New Gods Superboy had encountered recently."

"Maybe they're smuggling more Apokoliptian tech." Superboy suggested. He only recently heard of the place, thanks to an unusual group of outer dimensional beings referring to themselves as 'New Gods'.

"Possibly." Batman concurred. "But that's not the point. Your mission is to shut the source of the energy spike down. Learn the purpose of it all if you can, but halting the operation, if it is indeed man-made, takes priority. Confiscate or destroy anything that comes through. And be careful."

"Who's involved?" Artemis asked. "Bialya? Intergang?"

"We don't know. But I recommend extra caution because this particular anomaly puts out far more energy the last ones we detected in the past two months." Batman warned them.

Aqualad thought about it. "Either they're bringing in something big...or they've found something big."

"Exactly." Batman confirmed. "You'll all be headed to Okinawa at these coordinates; once it is destroyed and all anomalies neutralized, get out."

"Uh, quick question." Kid Flash asked, raising his cast-arm. "And yes, it has something to do with this." he added, pointing to it.

"If the energy output of these boom tubes are higher than normal, they may risk sucking in anything along with it. It's a slim chance, but still a possibility that must be anticipated. You are to act as back-up and rescue your teammates should that happen." the Dark Knight replied.

"Ah. Gotcha."

"Miss Martian, prepare your bio-ship. Superboy, bring the Sphere along as well." Batman ordered as he shut down the holograms and walked away to deal with something, or rather, someone else. "Your mission begins now."

* * *

><p>UTC 12:00<p>

Miss Martian's red bio-ship was faster than any jet the military had to offer. It was still morning in Okinawa, but thankfully according to the map the area they were investigating was not heavily populated. Traveling around the world could be considered one of the perks of their "jobs", but truth of the matter was they never had time to explore and appreciate the different locales. If anything, it was rather routine by now. "Approaching Drop Zone." Miss Martian said as she got her ship to hover in place. A hole formed in the floor of the ship, wide enough for a person to fall through. Most of the team used hooks to lower themselves to the ground. Superboy and Wolf simply touched down; the former had really learned to control his landings. Before he would leave a tremor and a crater in his wake. Miss Martian simply floated down with the rest of them, telekinetically taking Sphere with her while the bio-ship flew away to a secluded but close area.

Quickly, Robin held up a holographic map of their location. Aqualad knelt down to observe."We are approximately 10 clicks from the site. No doubt they have some kind of security. Everyone, stealth mode, just in case." Aqualad pressed his "A" belt buckle, and his red shirt morphed to black. Kid Flash and Artemis did the same on their uniforms, their colors turning black as well. Miss Martian simply willed her clothes to take on the form of a black leotard with a Red X. Robin and Superboy remained as they were; stealth was the former's strong suit, and Superboy's clothes were dark as it was.

They followed the map, walking slowly to not make a sound, and soon, they heard construction up ahead of them. Before some shrubbery, Aqualad ordered them to halt. Looking behind the foliage, their suspicions were confirmed, as a dome had been set up. No doubt to keep something secret. Robin took out a pair of electronic pair of binoculars. Zooming in on one of the security guards' logo, he found the owner: Lexcorp. "Luthor." Aqualad silently commanded the team to disperse.

Quickly, Robin pulled out a Birdarang, and threw it right in front of two security guards. They looked down to inspect it, and a colored gas spewed fourth. The two panicked and were about to radio for help, but their movements slowed, their voices becoming a dull moan as they fell face first into the ground.

Superboy and Aqualad ambushed two other guards and got them in headlocks. Superboy merely held his until he passed out from loss of blood to the brain, while Aqualad shocked his. Both released their victims and restrained them in the surrounding forest before their choke-holds became fatal.

Artemis scaled a tree, signaling out the rest. She opened her bow, and pulled back an arrow. She released it into the crowd, and like Robin before her, gas exploded around them, putting them to sleep. Wasting no time, she singled out the security camera covering one of the main entrances. She shot an arrow right below it. This arrow connected with the camera's circuitry, causing the footage to play back in a loop. Quickly, she jumped out of the tree to meet with the rest of her teammates.

Quickly, the team crowded themselves at the entrance. Superboy went first, using his infrared vision. "I'm not picking up any heat signatures right next to the door, though I'm picking up many others inside."

"As expected." Aqualad agreed. "Robin."

"I'm on it." Robin pulled a wire from his glove, and connected it to the keypad's USB port. A hologram with Robin faces appeared on his sleeve, each one turning green within seconds. When they were all green, the door swished open.

"Move. And be careful." Aqualad commanded as they ran inside.

Inside workers were going about their business, but most were too busy to notice they had intruders. There were security guards, but at the moment the team had a way around them. Quickly and quietly, the scaled the railings of the structure until they were nearly at the ceiling. There were also no security cameras; it seemed whatever was going on, whoever was in charge wanted to do this in absolute secrecy. That had to be an especially bad sign.

"_I've a feeling Luthor himself is here."_ Kid Flash said via telepathic link established by Miss Martian. _"No way he would not personally attend to something this big and secret."_

"_Yeah, I see him."_ Superboy confirmed. Right on the bottom floor of the dome, Lex Luthor, one of the richest and most influential men in the world, walked about. He was rather tall, but thin, with a completely bald head. He also had a smug look about him, even when it seemed he was rather annoyed. Next to him was a man in a cloak that seemed to be decorated with red clouds; not even with Superboy's senses could he discern other features. But what got the rest of the team's attention was the structure behind them. It was shaped like a medieval asian gate, with all the necessary parts and cultural decorations, but with a darker and more sinister twist, sporting the heads of Japanese Ogres. They couldn't figure out what about this gate was so important just by looking at it. Fortunately for the team, Superboy could listen even from up where they were..

("It is quite remarkable; we never even thought boom tubes could be used this way.") Luthor said, speaking in Japanese.

("Nor me with my special abilities.") the other said in the same language. ("And your weapons; even an ordinary man can become deadly.")

Luthor only smiled. ("Relatively. The best still require years of training. But enough of that; you said you had friends you wanted to bring to this side?")

("Allies would be a more appropriate term. I know what makes them tick; they will serve you well.")

("Most excellent. I am rather curious as to what this...Akatsuki, can do.")

("You will find out soon enough.")

"_Superboy, can you hear what they're saying?"_ Aqualad asked.

"_Yeah, though they're talking in Japanese. But it seems they want to bring over some people from another world." _

"_What kinds?"_ Kid Flash asked. _"And wait, since when did you learn how to speak Japanese?"_

"_Genomorph education; they uploaded every language on earth into my mind. But to answer your real question: I don't know."_ Superboy admitted. _"But apparently they're called Akatsuki."_

"_Red Dawn...isn't that supposed to be an old movie?"_ Robin asked.

"_Well, we'll probably have to add copyright infringement to their rap sheet once we catch them." _Kid Flash quipped back sarcastically.

"_Negative."_ Aqualad said. _"We need to destroy the boom tube while we have the chance, and make sure no one...or nothing...gets out. Miss Martian."_ he ordered.

On command, Miss Martian became almost invisible, and would remain that way as long as she made no sudden movements. _"I'm going in."_ she told everyone. She flew into the area, making sure not to bump into anyone. Soon, she came upon the gate up close. At first glanced, it looked ancient. But looking at the gears and circuitry involved, Miss Martian knew there was much more to this. _"Guys. Whatever it is, it looks feudal. Like it belongs in this region. But the technology is definitely alien."_

Everyone looked at each other. Aqualad nodded at Kid Flash, who crouched into a starting position. _"Destroy it as discreetly as possible. We're here to back you up, but be careful."_

* * *

><p>("It's taken quite a bit of time and research, but as you can see, we're ready for a test run.") Luthor continued to explain.<p>

("Yes. I suppose I should volunteer. Should anything go wrong, I know how to get back here on my own.")

Staring ahead at the gate, he suddenly went stiff. ("What is it?") Luthor asked.

("It seems you have an intruder.")

Luthor sighed and pressed his fingers against his forehead in irritation. "Just when you think you have flawless defense..." he grumbled, immediately pressing his Blue Tooth. "Hello, Otis? It seems we have an intruder. No, I don't see him either, that's why we have one." The stranger pointed in the general direction of the gate. "In fact, if it's who I think it is, I'd imagine we have several. Shoot at the gate but do not hit it. Understood? Good." Luthor then turned to his partner. ("We're going to test ahead of schedule. If successful, maybe you could do away with our pests?")

("I'll see what I can do.") The man replied.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past Miss Martian. Though her cheek was cut, she avoided a potentially fatal blow. But more would come if she didn't get help as she desperately hovered back and fourth to avoid gunfire while keeping her visibility low. _"So much for recon! Request back up, NOW!"_

"_I'm on my way, M'gann!"_ Superboy shouted in her mind. With a single bound, Superboy leaped right into the line of fire, the bullets bouncing off him like pebbles. Miss Martian, knowing she was found out, phased out of camouflage and readied for battle too.

"_We're on our way."_ Aqualad informed her. _"Kid, do not move until I give the ok!"_ While Wally wanted to help, he knew he would be a liability if he didn't comply with Aqualad's plan.

Robin was able to get by no problem; quickly and quietly, he sneaked past all guards. Finding the snipers above, he threw his birdarangs at them, calculating that the fall nor the explosions would kill them. The timers on his weapons went off, and next thing the gunman knew, the scaffolds gave way as they took a shortcut down to earth. His two friends safe from harm, Robin joined them in the open, flinging his birdarangs at anyone who came near.

Artemis simply took cover behind one of the many consoles, her bow at the ready. With expert marksmanship, she fired her arrows. Some sprayed knockout gas, incapacitating any assailants. Others exploded with liquid nitrogen, destroying the weapons' integrity. Others simply hit the gunmen with blunt force. However, she too was forced to move forward as others fired at her from behind.

Aqualad knocked any of his attackers away with a hammer and mace made out of water; getting to the center to help Miss Martian was not a problem for him

Miss Martian, her concentration now on battle, used her telekinesis to simply pick up the assailants and knock them against anything hard.

Sphere and Wolf helped too; Sphere simply ran over the gunmen while Wolf pounced on them, wounding but never killing. Once the team was united, it was clear the mercenaries were outmatched.

Meanwhile, Luthor and his partner looked on. ("Truth be told...I'm quite impressed.") the partner said. ("Their abilities are extraordinary. I can see why they give you such trouble.)"

("The Justice League gives us trouble.") Luthor reprimanded him. ("These...punks...are just annoyances.")

("Still, if you allow them to continue, they will be much more than an annoyance. It's best to stamp out weeds while they're young before they become strong and sturdy vines.")

Luthor sneered. ("True enough. Shall I leave them in your capable hands?")

("I doubt killing them would be easy..especially the muscular one, if what you told me about him is true...but perhaps banishing them will buy us some time.") A red eye with intricate patterns came alive in his one eye hole on the right as he put his hands together, index fingers up.

Suddenly, the gates began to open. "Uh...guys?" Miss Martian asked. "I think we have a big problem here!"

The wider the gates opened, a spiral of light opened up. "That's the same portal I've seen with the boom tubes!" Superboy exclaimed.

In an instant, an incredibly strong draft began to pull them in. Aqualad, recognizing the danger, shouted "Everyone! Fall back! Now!"

Everyone tried to make a hasty retreat, but the suction grew in strength rapidly. "Now I know why Batman wanted KF with us!" Robin exclaimed as he began to feel himself become weightless. Quickly, he fired his grappling hook; the line found a target and would never break, but if that didn't give, his arms would. The wind was now strong enough to pick him right off his feet.

Sphere, unable to get any traction, was the first to go as the orb was lifted off the ground and into the portal. "SPHERE!" Superboy cried in anguish, digging his arm into the earth and holding on to Wolf.

Miss Martian tried to hold on, but she wasn't able to do speed flights like Superman; it was all she could do just to keep away. Aqualad dug a waterbearer into the ground while Artemis shot her own line to steady herself. _"KF!"_ Aqualad shouted in the psychic link.

"_On it!"_ Kid Flash threw caution to the wind and ran towards his teammates at the speed of a jet.

"Kid Flash!" Artemis yelled as she tied her lifeline to her waist. "Take it!" Shooting another arrow, Kid Flash retrieved it just before it was sucked into the portal.

Quickly, he circled everyone; though the portal caused him to slow immensely, he was still able to gain enough traction to stay ahead of it. "Okay! Everyone; hold on!" Kid Flash gave it everything he got, pulling his teammates away from the portal. A slow pace, but it would have to do; he was making enough progress to pull them away.

Luthor looked on from above, displeased. ("It seems they need a little push.")

("Leave it to me.") The masked man said as he seemingly imploded on himself.

In less than a second, he was before Kid Flash. "What the-!?" The masked man looked him right in the eyes, his red eye spinning like a dreidel. Kid Flash began to feel his body go slack as everything went black. He heard his teammates call out to him, but they felt like faint whispers. Miss Martian, realizing that Kid Flash was out for the count, tried to pick up the slack, but her telekinesis could only do so much. The assailant helped her by throwing a kunai her way. Though it missed, it was enough to break her concentration. In the blink of an eye, she, and her teammates, were sucked in along with her.

* * *

><p>And so it begins! I may have made some goofs with some of the timezones and UTC, so just let me know if I did. Also, I'm assuming that Star City is somewhere along the west coast (at least in Young Justice), though I acknowledge I could be very, very wrong.<p>

Next time, The Team meets...Team 7. Couldn't figure out a better way to phrase that.


	3. Greetings

The sun rose over the forests in Fire Country. The birds chirped, and the air was moist and crisp. In a clearing, Kakashi Hatake awoke in his sleeping bag, his favorite adult novel flapped over his face. Groaning, he brushed it off and stretched. _"I suppose we should get going."_ Then, he heard something not far from the camp. It sounded like someone hitting wood. Looking to see Naruto and Sakura still resting comfortably in their sleeping bags and one left unoccupied, he could immediately guess the cause of the sound. Walking just past the borders of the clearing, he saw Sasuke, kicking a small tree trunk with excellent persistence and energy. Normally, Kakashi would be quite pleased. But this was a mission; training at this time could lead to disastrous results. "You know, you should rest. We're on a mission; you need to keep up your strength should the worst happen."

"I'm fine!" Sasuke snapped as he continued hitting the wood with more force and speed.

However, Kakashi could see he wasn't fine. Minor scrapes and cuts formed on his limbs, and his hair was wet; he must have been at this for a while. "Sasuke...you'll never surpass Itachi in just one morning."

Sasuke looked back to him in shock, silently demanding an explanation. "What?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly. "Everyone my rank knows. Should you really be surprised?" Kakashi, getting irritated with Sasuke continuing to stare at him, simply turned back. "Enough. We need to wake the others and make a quick breakfast. I want to finish this mission today."

Sasuke only grumbled in frustration. "What could he possibly understand about me!?" It was one thing when no one knew of his past. But when someone did and did not take the time to understand his pain...he'd rather no one know at all.

Kakashi walked over to Sakura's sleeping bag and nudged her awake. "Sakura: time to get up." Sakura groaned, and forced herself to sit up. Kakashi then walked over to the snoring Naruto. For a good 10 seconds, he just stared at him. "I can't just nudge you awake, can I?" Kakashi sighed. Quietly, he channeled his chakra into his finger until it turned into electricity. Then, he pressed it against Naruto's stomach; not even the insulating material of the bag could protect him.

"AHHHH!" Naruto practically shot up into the air like a rocket upon contact.

"Morning." Kakashi said pleasantly.

"What in the heck was that for!?" Naruto as he rapidly massaged his stomach.

"Well, it didn't look like you would get up if I just asked you. We're in a hurry, and I don't want to waste anymore time. If we're to retrieve the scroll, it needs to be done today!"

Naruto immediately calmed down and settled as he was reminded of their mission. "Well, what are we waiting for!?" Naruto smiled as he tightened his headband in determination. "Let's go!" For a long time, Kakashi used to be skeptical when Naruto got this confident, but lately, especially on the important missions, he took it as a good sign.

* * *

><p>"Ohh..." Kid Flash gripped his head with his good arm as he continued to moan in discomfort. "Anyone got the number of that comet that hit me?"<p>

Slowly, his other teammates began to come to." "Uhhh..."Artemis moaned. "No. But I'd gladly put an arrow up Luthor's hole, if that's any consolation."

Superboy's face stirred as he became aware of Wolf licking his face. Gently, Superboy shoved his snout out of the way. "Ugh...Wolf!"

"Conner!" M'gann flew towards him. "Are you alright?" she asked as she helped him on his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Superboy replied. "I just need to find..." A mechanical sound caught their attention from behind. "Sphere!" Superboy exclaimed, hugging his mechanical pet. "You're okay!"

Aqualad finally got his bearings straight, as did Robin. "It seems we're all alright." he said. "But the fact remains that we were dragged through the other side of that portal. Superboy; could this be New Genesis? Or Apokolips?" Superboy had recently encountered beings from both of those worlds mentioned, as Sphere was from one of those worlds too. He was the best source of information on this subject.

"I doubt it." Superboy replied. "I would think the Young Gods would have found us a while ago if we landed in their home. And this is definitely not Apokolips. Too pretty"

Robin then added his own insight. "Not to mention this place doesn't look very alien. I recognize these trees; they are indigenous to Japan. Although..."

"...although?..." Artemis interrupted.

Robin continued. "...they're not native to Okinawa., where we landed. Well, just to be sure..." He flipped his wrist computer on. The holographic screen only showed static with the message **"NO SIGNAL." **"Damn."

"What's wrong?" Miss Martian asked.

"I'm not getting a signal. And my holographic computer isn't broken. So, either the satellite for the signal is broken, which is extremely unlikely. Or..."

"Or we really have been exiled to an alien world. One the boom tubes never went to before." Aqualad finished.

Kid Flash groaned as he palmed his head. "Great; what do we do now? Find some aliens and say 'Take me to your leader?'"

Aqualad thought about it for a moment. "In a manner of speaking...yes."

"What!?" KF replied. "Dude! How do we know they'll be friendly!? Or even...sentient, for that matter!?"

"We don't." was Aqualad's only reply. "But what choice do we have? We have to make it back to Earth. One way, or another. And we're going to need help of some kind."

"I agree." Artemis said as she inspected her quiver. She still had a good amount of arrows, but the longer she was out here, the more care she needed to conserve. Running out of ammunition was a terrifying experience she did not wish to repeat; last time that happened, her teammates nearly died. "The question is where do we go from here? Assuming there is civilization here somewhere, we cannot afford to head the wrong way."

"I've an idea." Miss Martian volunteered. Placing a hand on the boy of steel's shoulder, she said "Superboy, would you mind if..."

"It's fine, Miss Martian. It's for the good of the team." The fact that the two aliens on the team were so in sync was not lost on Aqualad and Robin. Superboy used to hate needing help to achieve feats that Superman could do on his own, but he learned to accept his limitations and help from his friends. With the aid of Miss Martian's psychic abilities, he was lifted off the ground and above the treeline. Using his incredible vision, he scanned as far as he could see. "I found something." He called to them. "It looks like some kind of temple. It's pretty run down, but it's all I've got."

"It will have to do." Aqualad agreed. "We will head over there and see if we can find anything that will at least point us in the right direction." As soon as Superboy touched down, Aqualad asked him a favor. "Superboy, would it be alright if you, Miss Martian and Kid Flash travel naturally while the rest of us borrow Sphere? It will be easier for us to travel together that way."

"Sure thing, Kaldur." Superboy agreed. Sphere opened up, transforming back into cycle mode. "Follow me." Superboy leaped across the forest, covering several hundred feet with each stride. Miss Martian flew after him, while Kid Flash followed on foot, not even going a third of what he could.

Meanwhile, Robin, Aqualad, Artemis and Wolf boarded the Super Cycle. As they waited for the living machine take off, Robin shrugged. "So...yip yip?" The cycle flew forward with a sudden jerk as it's passengers yelped in surprise.

* * *

><p>Team 7 jumped between the branches as they followed their mentor across the treeline. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura asked. "Are you sure we're going the right way!?"<p>

"Positive." Kakashi responded. "My nose is on par with the Izunaka clan; I recognize the scent from the site the scroll was taken from."

Suddenly, he rose his fist and stopped on the next branch. Sasuke and Sakura stopped at his command; Naruto, however, kept going. Quickly, right after he passed him, Kakashi grabbed his leg and held him upside down. "Hey, what gives!?" Naruto yelled, flapping his arms.

"Putting my fist up means stop." Kakashi replied nonchalantly. He had to make a note to give Naruto a crash course in military sign language. "And keep it down." he added, clamping his hand over his mouth before Naruto could voice a complaint. "We're almost there; they may even know we're here. Stay quiet, and let's hope they don't know exactly where."

* * *

><p>"<em>Wally!"<em> Miss Martian called to him telepathically as she looked back at her teammate. _"You're falling behind! Is everything alright?" _

"_Yeah, babe! As fine as they could be, anyway!"_ the speedster thought back as he took care not to trip over any roots; Wally did have a habit of being a klutz, even when on duty sometimes._ "I think I may have banged my arm up again from the fall; right now, I just want to take it a bit slow for me and easy Just trying to be careful-" _Suddenly, an explosion went off behind him, the force sending him hurtling forward. Though he avoided the fire and any debris, it didn't help the wounded hero from tumbling on the ground. As his equilibrium struggled to put itself back together, Kid Flash moaned "Well, so much for that..."

Miss Martian flew back down to him, and Superboy also jumped back to check on him as well.

"Kid Flash!" Aqualad shouted as the Super Cycle descended. "Are you alright!? What happened!?"

"Something went boom." Kid Flash shrugged as Miss Martian supported him.

"Are you kidding me!?" Artemis yelled. Walking over to Kid Flash, she grabbed him by the collar and did everything in her power to restrain herself from shaking him. "We've been on an alien planet for but 2 minutes and already you're causing trouble!"

"Hey, whatever happened, it wasn't me!" KF raised his hands defensively. "I didn't feel any tripwires, and the explosions came from the trees!"

"He's right." Robin agreed, looking at the singing foliage and missing bark on the trees. "Wally may have triggered it, but it was a mistake any of us could have made going on foot. And I can't figure out exactly what or why something exploded."

Aqualad looked down on the ground, noticing scraps of paper. "Unless the civilization here has a pollution problem, I doubt these scraps of paper were left here accidentally."

"Let me have a look." Kid Flash said as he lowered his goggles. They weren't just to keep the air drag from shredding his eyes; they also came with binoculars and elector-magnetic spectrum settings. "These things have heat escaping from the inside." Kid Flash confirmed. "I guess I did set off a trap, and somehow these things created an exothermic reaction."

Aqualad looked on ahead. "If you really did trigger a trap, Kid...then we should be expecting some company soon."

* * *

><p>Ishidate Engetsu stared out of the window inside the abandoned temple as he adjusted his red wig (a tradition among the clan he abandoned; he had short hair underneath). The Leaf's Sand-Sound war was the perfect opportunity to steal one of the most powerful village's greatest treasures. It would be of great use to him...and perhaps he could find a potential buyer once he was through with it. He was no fool though; he knew they would send someone after him. It was only a matter of time; and if his prize was any indicator to go by, he had a feeling the Copy Ninja would be on his tail. He had a group of several other rogue ninjas under his command, all experienced chunin. Then, an explosion to the west caught his attention.<p>

"It seems someone has triggered one of our traps." one of his rogues said.

"Indeed. Ken, why don't you go check it out?" The bandit ninja under his command bowed and leaped out of the window, into the forest.

Ishidate then turned his head the opposite direction. "What is it?" one of his subordinates asked.

"Odd...we have intruders coming from over there. Then what triggered the explosion back there?" he questioned, looking in the opposite direction. After a moment of thought, he waved it off. "No matter; I'm sure Ken handle whatever it was...assuming it survived." He then smiled. "Come; let's go greet our guests I have a good feeling I know who it is."

* * *

><p>Ken came upon the sight where the explosive traps were sprung; however, what he found confused him. There was no body; the explosive tags were powerful, but not that powerful. They were specifically set to go off when something human sized passed through them, and even if a wild animal did trigger the bombs, he would have found evidence of that. <em>"Looks like whoever triggered it survived..."<em> Great, now Ken had to be on extra alert.

Little did he know, he was being watched._ "He looks...human..." _Miss Martian commented. It was not at all what she and the team expected. Then again, they did have a Kryptonian on their team; proof that life in the galaxy sometimes did repeat the same design.

"_Yeah. In fact..." _Robin dared to venture. _"...I'd say he's a ninja."_

The rest of the team was silent. _"...Really?"_ Artemis groaned.

"_We have the League of Shadows; why is that so hard to grasp?"_

"_Don't ninjas dress in all black from head to toe? And what's with that vest?" _ Kid Flash argued.

"_Not to mention the cultures would have to be so different that I'd doubt we'd see ninjas anywhere else but on earth."_ Aqualad chimed in.

"_Well, that's the closest I can figure."_ Robin shrugged.

"_I'll go ask him." _Superboy said. He then dropped down from the trees, revealing himself to Ken. "Sorry, but did you set that trap? One of our friends nearly got killed by that." he asked nonchalantly. Judging by his blank stare, it seemed the person did not understand him.

("I don't know how you survived that explosion, but I'll make up for it!") he shouted as he unsheathed his sword. "Botu Senpou (Dancing Whirlwind) no Jutsu!" He made elaborate but quick spins as he rushed towards Superboy. He brought his katana down...and the blade went flying off into a tree. Ken only stared in wonder. The boy's clothes were not armor, nor did he make any motion to defend himself! How did he do that? His questions went unanswered as Superboy suddenly lifted him off his feet by the collar with no apparent effort.

( "Thanks for letting me know which language you speak.") Superboy said in Japanese. "Now that we understand each other, I'll ask you again: did you set that trap?"

Ken, slowly comprehending the position he was in, nodded yes. ("It's to protect our village. We meant no harm.")

Superboy narrowed his eyes. ("I'm not that scary. I can tell you're lying. Why don't you tell us the truth?") Ken suddenly struggled, and used all of his taijutsu skills to escape. Not only did the boy before him not seem to feel any of it, hitting him was like hitting a brick wall. ("Look, I don't want to hurt you. We're lost, and we just want to know what the down low is.") Superboy pleaded with him. Seeing the man clam up, he called to Miss Martian. _"M'gann, see what you can pull out of him." _

"_On it."_ The strangest looking girl Ken had ever seen floated towards him. Miss Martian's eyes glowed, and Ken felt a strange sensation in his mind. "There's a lot to go through..." Miss Martian said as her friends slowly emerged from hiding one-by-one. "But all I can say is he's a thief. He stole something...some kind of scroll. I can find out more..."

Superboy suddenly turned his head toward his left. "What is it, SB?" Robin asked. "You hear something?"

"Yeah..." Superboy nodded grimly. "Battle."

* * *

><p>"Great." Kakashi muttered. As usual, Naruto got too confident, and SHOUTED for the thieves to come out. Kakashi was worried the thieves were ninja...even with the one-day war that occurred, no mere rogue could hope to penetrate their most secret defenses. It was confirmed when Kakashi had to suddenly pull him away from an incoming explosive kunai. Even worse, the leader of this band of thieves was someone Kakashi recognized. "Engetsu Ishidate."<p>

The S-class missing nin looked down on him with a smirk. "I'd expect someone of your caliber to know who I am...Hatake Kakashi." He and his men stood in the trees, while Kakashi and his genin remained on the ground. "I must say though, I'm rather disappointed." Ishidate taunted him. "For someone of your stature to be stuck with such mediocre genin...I can only imagine the shame you must be feeling now."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "Who are you calling mediocre!?"

Kakashi clamped his hand over his mouth, though in hindsight that was probably pointless by now. "Better than being a traitor to my village with no place to go, resorting to thievery just to stay alive." he shot back. "We're both out here in the open now, so why don't you just give up the scroll and we'll pretend this never happened."

"Why settle...when I can have your head?" With a snap of his fingers, more ninja appeared. Though they seemed low-level, their numbers were astonishing.

"Kakashi-sensei, who are these people!?" Sakura shouted.

"Rogues, Sakura. That's all I can say. Whatever happens, don't let Ishidate get hold of you!" The jonin and three genin as they got their weapons ready, preparing for an attack...

* * *

><p>The team finally came upon the other side of the mountain, the Super Cycle carrying half the passengers plus Ken handcuffed. Miss Martian lifted Kid Flash into the treeline while Superboy helped himself up. "There it is." Superboy said, pointing to a clearing. Screams could be heard, and except for Superboy's enhanced vision, all the team could make out visually was dots moving almost inhumanly fast.<p>

"Now the question is who's fighting who?" Aqualad asked.

"Well, let's take a look." Robin said. Pulling out his binoculars, he zoomed in. "More ninja guys fighting more...wait, what the hell!?"

"What is it!?" Artemis asked anxiously.

"There are kids down there! Kids fighting!"

"Let me see!" Aqualad snatched them from him and took a look. Indeed, two young boys and a girl were fighting alongside one adult. None of them looked any older than Robin!

"I see them too." Superboy confirmed. "And they're fighting with lethal weapons. They know what they're doing."

Kid Flash's goggles also zoomed in on the fighting. "Yeah, though so far only the masked and dark one are holding their own. The girl seems to be doing everything she can just to survive, and the blonde one seems to be attacking with only brute...wait, did he just make copies of himself?"

"Aqualad, what should we do?" Artemis asked.

Aqualad himself pondered that. While he did not like the sight before him, he also did not know the who what and why, and was hesitant to intervene in a conflict that was not their business...

* * *

><p>"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto once more made more of him as they separated and launched an assault on all who approached them.<p>

Though most were brought down, one managed to hit them and evaporate them before they could land a blow. A big, burly man with a kabano, black hair and the ugliest face Naruto had ever seen looked down on him like a child prepared to burn ants with a magnifying glass. "You better have more tricks than the kage bushin to beat me!" the rogue said. Naruto tossed his shuriken but none hit their mark, as the large ninja was faster than he looked. He suddenly appeared behind him, and whacked him across the head with his weapon. Naruto somehow didn't die, but it was clear he lost this fight.

Sakura tried her best as well, but the kunoichi she was facing had superior strength, speed and skill. In terms of appearance, the enemy kunoichi was extremely beautiful, with long raven hair, creamy skin and a large bust that Sakura desperately wished she had. Sakura was hoping she could at least drive her off, but it seemed she was toying with her. "Ridiculous." the woman said. "Such futility. I'll give you one more chance: come at me with a big move." Sakura created more bushins, making a move to attack the woman. She easily cut through them with her katana, but the real Sakura dove between her legs and buried a kunai in the ground. "Really? This is your absolute best!?" The kunoichi sliced her katana at the kunai, destroying the explosive tag attached to it. Sakura found herself pinned against the tree, and knew her opponent would catch her before she could make a move. "I'd normally tell you to prepare for an honorable death...but you dishonor yourself by placing yourself in the battlefield with no real skill to speak of! Perhaps I'll keep you alive a little longer to make you regret your choice."

Sasuke was having much better luck against another ninja with white hair and red eyes, almost like his sharingan; he and his opponent seemed evenly matched in taijutsu, each striking and blocking with precision. But to Sasuke, evenly matched was unacceptable. Suddenly, he kicked him into a boulder and shot wires at his opponent, binding him. "There's more! Katon! Ryuka no Jutsu!" His cheeks expanded as he spewed flame, which traveled on the wires like it was oil.

The man only smiled when he should have screamed in fear. "You sure you want to do that? Think again!"

He snapped his fingers...and Sasuke saw he tangled himself in his own wires, as the flames came towards him! It was a genjutsu the whole time! "Shit!" Quickly, he pulled out a kunai and cut them loose. He avoided a fatal blow, but the flames singed his skin pretty bad still. He realized he wasn't moving as fast as he should have; he was still recovering from his morning work out.

"Hah! I thought those eyes of yours would have caught on sooner!" Sasuke's eyes widened. "Yeah, I know who you are. Your brother gave me quite a nasty scar." he said, pointing his thumb to his collar bone. "I couldn't even land a scratch on him."

Sasuke's face went cold with fear. It could be easy to write the man's taunt off as lying...but he knew in his heart that he wasn't. "AHHHH!" Sasuke pulled out a kunai and charged the man.

Though he was fast, his anger made him predictable and the man easily side-stepped him. "Such spirit." the man said. "Such passion. But you're not really all here, are you?"

Suddenly, Sasuke felt a knee to his cheek, as he spun in the air and fell in pain. He struggled to stand, but his body was shaking. "I'll show you...I'll show you all..."he growled. If he had anything more to say, the foot from his foe forced him into the dirt and silenced him.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was having much better luck with Ishidate, whom he forced onto the defensive. Kakashi, having summoned his dogs, was able to make him fight harder than he otherwise would have to and even land a shuriken in his opponent's shoulder. "I'm ending this, Ishidate!" He formed the Raikiri in his hand, but instead of charging, he threw it. The chakra took the form of an electrical wolf, and it was heading right towards him! Suddenly, he pulled a substitution, but not with an inanimate object. No, in his place was an unconscious Sakura!

Kakashi pulled back and redirected his attack, but Sakura suddenly sneered at him. "Fool." She transformed back into one of Ishidate's kunoichi, and Kakashi realized he had been trapped.

Kakashi whirled around with a kunai of his own, but Ishidate had closed the gap and grabbed Kakashi's wrist. "You'll make a lovely trophy...or maybe I'll sell your encased corpse."

Suddenly, Kakashi felt his wrist get heavy as solid stone formed over it. "Uggh!" Kakashi kicked him off and back flipped away, but he knew it was futile. With his hand imprisoned in stone, making hand signs for ninjutsu and genjutsu was impossible. And taijutsu was the one area where Ishidate was slightly superior to him.

As he damaged the dogs enough to send them away, he sneered and calmly walked over to him. "It seems this is your end, Copy ninja. I promise to give you an honorable death...too bad I can't say the same for your genin team."

* * *

><p>"It's looking bad for them." Superboy noted. "Aqualad..."<p>

"Yes." Aqualad handed the binoculars back to Robin. "We'll help them. We may not know the why, but I can clearly see children in danger; that's enough reason for us to act. Superboy, get in there! We'll back you up shortly! Kid Flash! Run and save who you can, but avoid combat if possible! Artemis, find cover and neutralize any you see! Go!"

Superboy leaped off into the distance, while everyone else followed any way they could.

* * *

><p>Sakura prepared for the worst. She could see everyone else on her team had lost. Her teammates were about to die, only because their enemies had caught them off guard. But she was truly outmatched by her opponent. She was paralyzed with fear at the thought of her own death, but her greatest shame was that she couldn't protect those around her. <em>"Sasuke-kun...Kakashi-sensei...Naruto...I'm sorry..."<em> she thought as a tear ran down her cheek.

The enemy kunoichi only gave her a bloodthirsty smile. "I think I'll take your limbs first. After I cauterize them, I'll just leave you here in the field to watch the others die." She approached her, lifted her sword...and suddenly an impact sent rock and her flying away. The kunoichi rolled with the blow and back on her feet. ("What the hell was that?!")

In the smoking crater between her and Sakura, a muscular boy rose to his feet. ("Get out of the way, boy!") The kunoichi, not one to tolerate others getting in the way of her prey, threw kunai at Sakura.

Quickly, Superboy ran towards her and crouched over her, the weapons bouncing off of him harmlessly. Both enemy and rescued looked at him in awe. ("Are you alright?") Superboy asked the girl he was carrying, still using Japanese.

Sakura's face only became as red as her blouse. ("Uh...yeah...") was all she could say out loud. Inside her mind though, she was blowing steam out her nose and clutching her cheeks. _"HE'S EVEN MORE GORGEOUS THAN SASUKE-KUN!" _

Superboy carefully placed her behind the tree.( "Wait here; help is on the way.") Superboy, then walked over to the attacking kunoichi. She threw a kunai, this time armed with an explosive tag. The metal exploded in Superboy's face full force. Though he stumbled and clutched his eyes in pain, his face was not burnt and she couldn't even be sure if his eyes were red through irritation. For the first time in a long time, the kunoichi trembled in fear. ("What...what are you!?")

"Trouble. And there's more to come if you don't surrender now." he warned her.

("L-Like you!?")

("Not quite.") Suddenly, explosive blasts dotted the valley as the Supercycle flew over them, scattering the other thieves. "Wow, Sphere; I didn't know you come with weapons." Superboy commented to himself.

As Aqualad scanned the area, he issued his next command "Miss Martian! Just in case, link us up again!"

"_On it!"_ she replied, then concentrating.

"_Artemis, are you in position!?"_ Aqualad asked telepathically.

"_I am. And I've got my first target..."_ Still in the forest, but in range, Artemis fired an arrow through a space impossible for the average archer to achieve. The arrow exploded, knocking all the canon fodder in range out.

("What's going on here!?") Ishidate yelled. ("Since when did you call for help!?") he yelled towards Kakashi.

Kakashi grinned underneath his mask. ("Truthfully, I didn't. But whoever they are, I'm sure glad they're here!")

Ishidate looked as the odd group of kids flanked his group. They didn't appear to be ninja, but it was clear they were not to be taken lightly, he could see. Realizing this was going south, Ishidate barked an order to his strong man. ("Tetsumaru! Finish yours off, now! We need to concentrate all our efforts on these bunch of strangers now!")

While Aqualad didn't speak much Japanese, just looking at the biggest man of the group raise his weapon was enough for him to deduce what was about to happen. _"Kid! He's going to kill the blond one!" _

"_ON IT!"_ As Tetsumaru brought his weapon down, a blur as yellow as Naruto interfered and disappeared into the forest, Naruto gone with him. As Tetsumaru wondered what happened, Kid Flash dove into the forest, carrying the unconscious Naruto on his shoulder. _"I'll give him this...this kid can take a beating!"_ Kid Flash thought as he did a brief check on Naruto's temple; no apparent broken bones. He just hoped his brain wasn't completely scrambled. After laying him down gently as he could, Kid Flash yelled "Hey, kid! Wake up!" He slapped Naruto's face, as the boy's eyes fluttered open.

("Wha-? Where-?") Naruto, upon seeing Kid Flash, jumped up and pulled out a kunai.

"Whoa there! I'm here to help!" Kid Flash exclaimed, holding his hands up.

("I don't know what you're blabbering on about, but you're not going to defeat me here! I will live to be Hokage! That's a promise!")

Kid Flash realized this kid was a hot head, and the language barrier between them wasn't helping any. The most exposure Kid Flash had to Japanese were his anime fansubs, and unless subtitles suddenly appeared here, that wouldn't count for much. ("Whoa, time out!") Kid Flash cried as he backed away from his slashes. "Does it look like I want to hurt you!? Or even could!?" he exclaimed, pointing to his cast. Naruto didn't care for what he was saying, and attacked, trying to slash the speedster anyway he could.

Thankfully, Kid Flash was able to dodge every strike. "Oh, for the love of-!" _"Guys, mine thinks I'm a foe!" _

"_Hold on."_ Miss Martian said. _"Let me link him up." _

Naruto felt a tingling in his mind, and then he heard a girl's voice. Not physically, but in his head. _"Stop! We're here to help!"_ it said.

("What!? Where!?") Naruto screamed. He knew he didn't physically hear it, but yet he did somehow!

"_This kid really is an idiot."_ Kid Flash thought, forgetting he was in the link as well.

Recognizing Kid Flash's voice in his head, Naruto pointed at him accusingly. ("Hey! Who're you calling an idiot, idiot!") he accused. ("And what's happening to me!?")

Kid Flash sighed. _"Since we're not getting across to each other verbally, my friends linked us up telepathically. We're speaking through thought."_ Kid Flash informed him.

"_KF!"_ Robin shouted. _"I'm surrounded! Could use a little help here!"_

"_Right! Sorry, kid. Just stay here and you'll be safe!"_ Faster than anyone Naruto had seen, Kid Flash took off.

* * *

><p>Sasuke struggled to stand, not yet ready to die. Not when there was still so much for him to accomplish! ("I'll deal with these freaks after I finish you off...") his attacker said as he prepared to kill the boy with his bare hands. Suddenly, a large rock, with no other apparent force propelling it, knocked him over. ("The hell!?") Miss Martian hovered into view, both the enemy and Sasuke staring at the strangest (though not unattractive) girl they had ever seen. "The hell are you!?" Miss Martian didn't speak Japanese, but in this situation she could see the intent well enough. The ninja attacked, but Miss Martian used her telekinesis to throw him above her head. The attacker, though taken off guard, quickly regained his footing. "I don't know how you did that..." He put his hands together in a formation MM did not understand. "But you will not be doing it again!" Suddenly, two arms sprouted from his sides, each holding a blade. "The power of my Kekkei Genkai! Jihatsu Edakai no Jutsu! (Spontaneous Limb Creation)!" He charged faster than Miss Martian could react with her mind, but quickly she generated several arms of her own to catch him, some of which absolutely did not belong in there apparent origin, such as her stomach, or her forehead. "What-? How?"<p>

"_Enough."_ was all Miss Martian said as she used her telekinesis to send him flying away. The arms disappeared back into her body as she hovered towards Sasuke. _"Are you alright?"_ she asked telepathically.

"_What..." _Sasuke asked, still in shock. _"What are you?"_

"_A Martian...if this is really another world, I wouldn't expect you to understand that."_

* * *

><p>Ishidate stood in place, brandishing a weapon defensively as Aqualad approached him. <em>"Miss Martian, link us up. All of us. They need to hear this."<em> Soon, everyone felt the tingling in their heads, and those who hadn't experienced it already ._ "I am Aqualad of the Justice League. We do not understand the reason for your conflict, but seeing as children are in danger, we suggest you walk away now, or prepare to be hurt."_ Ishidate just stared at him flabbergasted, then laughed. "I'll take that as a no." Aqualad sighed. He unsheathed his waterbearers, taking on the form of swords. _"Artemis!"_ Artemis fired another arrow from her hiding spot, this time the arrow exploding into a net that bound Ishidate.

Down but not out, he commanded his fellow shinobi. ("Kill them! Kill them all!")

"_Everyone! Prepare for battle, and protect the children!"_ Aqualad commanded.

* * *

><p>Akeno, the kunoichi who was attacking Sakura earlier, charged Superboy with all of her kenjutsu skills. Superboy only stood in place as the sword broke in half, and grabbed her wrists, pulling her to the ground. Akeno tried fighting back with kicks, but only wound up hurting herself. ("What are you made of!? Steel!?") she screamed.<p>

("So they've said.") Superboy replied nonchalantly, not even breaking a sweat in keeping her down.

Suddenly, Akeno reached into a pocket near her collar and spat a smoke bomb into Superboy's face. He choked, releasing her. Smiling, she jumped on top of him, made her hand signs, and leaped away. Superboy tried to catch her, but then chains came out of nowhere and bound him. What was stranger, they were actually holding him down, no matter how much he struggled.

"_Superboy!"_ Robin called. _"What the heck is your deal!? Why are you just standing there!?" _

"_Why do you think!?"_ Superboy replied back. _"I'm bound in chains!" _

"_First, impossible! Second, there's nothing there!" _

"_How can that..."_ Superboy stopped his train of thought as he saw Akeno run towards the tree he dropped Sakura off at. _"Robin, she's going after the girl! Keep her away! Miss Martian, I think I'm stuck in some sort of...illusion!" _

"_I'm on my way!"_ she said.

Sakura's hopes were crushed as she saw Superboy paralyzed in some sort of genjutsu. She could run over and break the spell...but then she'd be wide open. ("There you are, little girl!") Akeno was right above Sakura. She came down, brandishing a knife, but red shurikens distracted her long enough for Sakura to move out of the way. "What!?" She picked up one of the fallen objects. ("What kind of crap is this? They aren't even sharp enough to kill a man.") Suddenly, she heard a mischievous laugh. Both Akeno and Sakura were oblivious as to the source as they looked in every direction. ("Where are you!?")

("Up.") She looked up and caught two boots to the face. Robin jumped off, landing next to Sakura.

He threw another birdarang, but Akeno caught this one. ("Really...such average skills.") Suddenly, the object spewed green smoke in her face, choking her up.

("Hold on!") Robin commanded Sakura. Grabbing hold of her, he fired his grappling line up and pulled them both out of sight. As soon as they were in the treetops, Robin commanded ("Get on my back! I'll get you away from here!")

("I can get about fine!") Sakura said, irritated someone other than Sasuke treated her as a damsel in distress. ("And my team needs me.")

Robin sighed. ("Suit yourself. Now hurry!") Robin leaped off one branch to another like a monkey, while Sakura simply jumped several in a single stride. It wasn't in the same league as Superboy's jumps, but it was still much better than most highly trained athletes could hope to accomplish. ("Wow. You DO know how to get around.")_ "And she's kind of cute too."_ Robin noted. Sakura suddenly stopped and glared at him. ("Oh, the link. Sorry about that, forgot...") he smiled nervously. ("But it's true! That's a compliment!")

"_ONLY SASUKE-KUN IS ALLOWED TO CALL ME CUTE!"_ she screamed loudly in her mind as she hopped away.

Robin kept his surface thoughts silent as he whispered "Uh, you're welcome!" and continued on.

* * *

><p>Aqualad swung at Ishidate, who easily side-stepped him. He tried to counter with a wakizashi, but Aqualad blocked it with ease, being experienced in close-ranged weapons training. Ishidate suddenly jumped and spun around, catching Aqualad on the chin. However, though he stumbled, the Atlantean easily recovered. <em>"He's stronger than he looks. A lot stronger." <em>Aqualad and Ishidate continued to engage with their weapons. Aqualad suddenly surprised him with a kick that sent him tumbling meters away. ("Not sure if that was worth it...ugh!") He clutched his stomach in pain. ("You're a lot stronger than me. But your combat skills are average at best. AHHH!") Ishidate charged, while Aqualad took up a defensive position. Suddenly, he tossed a smoke bomb, and was gone. Aqualad, having experience with this sort of tactic, twisted around to block shuriken using his waterbearers as a shield. They bounced off harmlessly, but that was not the end of his tricks. Aqualad, using another waterbearer behind the shield, shot a bullet of water right at Ishidate. The ninja was stunned upon impact and fell to the ground. ("I've had enough of your tricks, boy!")

Suddenly, he drilled right into the earth. Aqualad looked about nervously, knowing he could pop out anywhere at any time. Suddenly, a hand popped out of the earth and grabbed his ankle. Stone started to form perfectly around his body "AHHH!" Aqualad tried to get away, but was held down tight. As the process reached his waist, Aqualad turned a waterbearer into a whip and struck the hand.

Ishidate popped out of the earth, clutching his stinging hand. ("Let's see you break out of that one, tough guy.") Aqualad only grunted as he tightened his core and leg muscles. Suddenly, the stone shattered, and he was free again. Ishidate's face broke into a sweat. _"What...what is this kid? Only someone like Senju Tsunade could have broken out of that!" _

("Hey!") Kakashi called Aqualad over. ("Get this off of me!") he shouted, thrusting his petrified hand out.( "I can help!") Despite the language barrier, Aqualad could read him justfine. Quickly, he ran over and gripped the stone. With some effort, he ripped it off of Kakashi's skin.

Kakashi flexed his hand as feeling returned to it. _"We're linked up; we can communicate."_ Aqualad informed him.

Kakashi seemed to easily catch the drift of telepathy, which amazed Aqualad. _"Okay. Ishidate over here has more tricks up his sleeve than I am prepared to deal with. I may need help. But first, keep my genin safe." _

"_You're what?" _

"_The kids with me!"_ Kakashi clarified.

"_Understood. Team, you heard him."_

("Look out!") Kakashi shouted as he jumped in front of Aqualad and deflected a kunai aimed for him.

* * *

><p>Miss Martian flew over to Superboy, still bound. Realizing it was all in his head, Miss Martian touched his forehead and concentrated. <em>"I see it."<em>

In a moment, Superboy came free, his limbs finally able to move. "Thanks." he said.

"Edan!"

Suddenly, Miss Martian was hit by a stream of fire. "Ahh!" She rolled across the grass; while no apparent external injuries were apparent, she was unconscious, and Superboy knew she could be in deep trouble if she didn't get help in time.

"M'gann!"

The attacking ninja thought he figured it out. ("They're vulnerable to fire!") He fired again, but Superboy shielded M'gann. His T-shirt and pants began to catch flame, but he remained unburned. As the fire cleared, Superboy gave him a death glare, and both knew how this was going to end. ("Well...that one was at least...") Superboy yelled in rage, and leaped towards him. He hit the ninja square in the sternum, and sent him flying into the forest.

More enemy rogues showed up, but none attacked. ("The boy's vulnerable to genjutsus!") One exclaimed. ("The green one's vulnerable to fire! Keep them away from one another!") Superboy went over to Miss Martian, but felt himself sinking in mud. He knew it was not real, but knowing and feeling were two different things. ("Quick! Finish her off!") one of the approaching ninja ordered. Before they could get them, Wolf suddenly pounced on one of them and mangled his shoulder. His comrades tried to kill him with their weapons, but Wolf's thick muscle prevented them from doing any real damage.

"Great job, Wolf!" Superboy yelled as he continued to struggle with his illusion. Even when Wolf was strangled by a chain, he yanked his head back and sent the wielder flying.

("I've got her!") one rogue who got away exclaimed as he leaped into the air and prepared to drop his katana down on her.

("Think again!") Just then, Sasuke's Windmill Shuriken flew by him. While he avoided it, Sasuke ran up behind him and took him down with a kick to the liver. Miss Martian finally recovered, as she looked to Sasuke. _"Help your friend! I'll keep them off your back!"_ Miss Martian nodded and flew towards Superboy, while Sasuke held off the other attackers just as he said he would.

It seemed he had gotten his second wind, landing precise strikes on adults who should have been superior to him, but was caught off guard when a chain wrapped around his arm. ("Gotcha!")

Not for long it seemed; Sphere suddenly came back and squashed the person holding him, and proceeded to run over several other ninjas. ("Uh...thanks?") Sasuke was almost taken by surprise by another rogue ninja, but he threw him over and leaped up into the air to join him. Bringing a kick down on his mid-section, he yelled "Lion-Combo!" The ninja was out like a rock upon contact with the ground.

As Sasuke landed, he squinted his eyes...and revealed two sharingans, like his teacher Kakashi had. He stared menacingly at his attackers("Is he-?") one asked.

Suddenly, they were lifted in the air by nothing and flung away. That wasn't the end of their troubles though..."UWAHHHH!" Superboy was free of his genjutsu, and landed in the middle of the crowd. While he did not land a direct hit on anybody, the impact he made sent shock waves that knocked everyone off their feet. The others, remembering how invincible he was, ran away in fear.

("And what are you?") Sasuke asked in both fear and irritation. Superboy only gave him a glare.

"_Kryptonian."_ Miss Martian answered, flying by Sasuke's side. _"I don't expect you to understand that one either, so don't worry about it."_

* * *

><p>Artemis caught another ninja with a foam arrow, the chemical engulfing him as he couldn't figure out how to break free. Though her comrades seemed to have started with some difficulty, it seemed they were starting to pick up the slack. "Good." she said. "I used up too many arrows as it is."<p>

("There she is! There's their archer!")

Artemis rolled her eyes in annoyance, being the third member of the team fluent in Japanese. "Why do they have to be just smart enough to look for the long range people!?" Quickly, she gathered her quiver and bow and made a break for it. Although she was agile across the treetops, she noticed her pursuers seemed to be able to make significantly greater strides.

("I have her!") One ninja dropped from the branches in an attempt to impale her with a tanto. Quickly, she blocked with her bow and kicked him off. The others threw shuriken, but Artemis leaped off the tree and fired an explosive arrow with the crossbow holstered on her leg. Some maintained their footing, others landed on the ground the wrong way.

Artemis felt something cut across her cheek as another ran towards her. Artemis tried to fire a punch arrow, but at that close a range he easily dodged. She tried to engage him in hand-to-hand combat, but he blocked every blow she could throw and landed a solid right across her cheek. _"They're good; I'd say even better than the League of Shadows..." _she thought, not liking the direction this fight was taking.

"Suiton! Suiryudan!"

Artemis turned around to see what seemed to be a dragon made up of water rush towards her. With no way to react in time, she could only go with the current. She only hoped it wouldn't smash her into a nearby tree...or worse. _"Why does everyone keep trying to drown me!?"_ Artemis quickly fired a tether arrow as soon as she broke the surface of the water and pulled herself to safety; it was like trying to swim up rapids. Quickly, she coughed roughly in hopes of getting the water out of her system. "There better not be any more..." Suddenly, more ninjas appeared in front of her. "Shit; spoke too soon."

Quickly, she fired another arrow, but this one didn't land on any ninja, nor did it miss. It hit the ground, and spewed smoke to cover her escape. "Smoke bomb arrows!? That's a new one!" one exclaimed.

"Where'd she go!?" They never got a chance to find out, as many were suddenly clocked by Robin's birdarangs, followed by normal shuriken. They retaliated in response, throwing shuriken of their own in the opposite direction. If they hit something, they couldn't tell.

Suddenly, Sakura dropped on top of one and elbowed his head. Though it stunned him, she was far too small to do any real damage. Quickly, she shoved a smoke bomb in his face and ran. "That little c-"

He was cut off by a whack to the head, this one effectively knocking him out. "Watch the language!" Robin was now armed with his kali sticks, and wasted no time in attacking the others. While the ninja had well-trained reflexes, they were not used to such an exotic fighting style and underestimated the teen's agility, the boy wonder aiming for their legs and distracting them with smoke bombs. One, however, caught onto him and swiped his katana at the boy. Though he missed a killing blow, he managed to knock the sticks out of his hands, and sent him flying with a powerful kick. "Ugh..." Robin moaned, holding his sore stomach.

As the ninja raised his katana, Sakura suddenly came in from the side and kicked him in the head. Robin was able to use this distraction to sweep him off his feet, retrieve his sticks and smack him on both sides of the head. ("Thanks.") he said to Sakura.

Suddenly, a ninja popped out of the ground like a mole and got the pink-haired kunoichi in a choke hold. Robin quickly pulled out his taser and shot the ninja, filling him with several volts of electricity. In no time, he collapsed on the ground, letting Sakura go. As Robin ran to help her up, Sakura suddenly swatted a punch across his head. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing it. ("What was that for!?")

("For shocking me, you jerk!") Sakura shouted. ("That hurt!")

("You haven't been hit by a taser directly before, have you?") Robin asked sarcastically. ("I'm sure whatever you got was no worse than my experiences with static electricity.")

"I see you're making new friends already." Artemis stepped out of her hiding place, smirking at Robin. Sakura was slightly taken aback; the girl's appearance reminded her of Ino a little bit though older and slimmer. Suddenly, she brought her bow up and cocked an arrow back.

("Duck!") Robin suddenly pushed Sakura down as she released the arrow, the projectile striking an assailant in the shadows, yet somehow not impaling his face. ("Sorry.") Robin said, anticipating the kunoichi to act up again and put some distance between them.

Sakura just sighed and brushed the dust off her shirt. ("Listen, I appreciate what you've done for me. But I have to get back to-")

Artemis once again saved them as she launched another arrow, this one deflecting shuriken. Akeno had followed them into the forest, and was ready to begin her assault anew. ("It seems you two are less powerful than your other friends there. And that sorry excuse for a kunoichi isn't going to help you much either!" )

Though Sakura shook slightly in fear, her two new companions readied themselves for a fight. ("Careful.") she warned them. ("She's a genjutsu user.")

("Genjutsu...") Robin muttered. ("You mean...illusions?")

("Yes. That's what bound your friend, the muscular one.")

("I see.")

("But you can recognize it, right?") Artemis asked. ("Then we have a chance.")

Sakura hesitantly pulled out kunai as she prepared for battle, hoping these two would be enough to turn the tide. ("You act like you've done this before.")

("Fighting off two super-powered androids will do that to you.") Artemis said.

Sakura only looked at her funny. "An...droidsu?" What in the world was that!?

* * *

><p>"Ahhh!" Aqualad was finally knocked over by a kick from Ishidate. Though Aqualad was stronger, the ninja clearly had far better combat experience and techniques. Not to mention his own unique abilities gave Aqualad a good run for his money.<p>

("I had trouble getting started, but now I've a good grasp of your powers.") Ishidate said. Suddenly, he plunged his hand into the earth, and picked up a great piece of dirt. "Doton! Araishi Kouhyou no Jutsu! (Stone Hailstorm)" Stones flew towards Aqualad at blinding speeds, fast enough for him to be unable to block. Had it not been for his Atlantean physiology, he would have bled to death. Even with that in mind, it hurt pretty bad. ("I don't know what kind of Kekkei Genkai you have that makes you so tough...but judging by those gills, I'd say you don't like fire much.") He made a sign for the Tiger, indicating a fire jutsu (not that Aqualad would know that).

Before he could launch an attack, Kakashi suddenly leaped out of the ground, uppercutting the ninja. As he hit the ground, Kakashi prepared an attack of his own as he smacked his palms against the ground. "Doton. Ryuusha no Jutsu! (Quicksand)" The ground around Ishidate immediately softened, as the ninja sunk waist deep into the ground. _"Help your friends! I got this!"_ Kakashi assured him telepathically.

Aqualad seemed reluctant to leave, but as he looked behind him, he could see his friends were indeed struggling. _"We'll come back for you! I promise!" _Aqualad sheathed his bearers and ran towards them.

Ishidate created a pillar to free himself from his trap. ("You think you can defeat me as you are now?")

Kakashi smirked. ("Only one way to find out...but if I can't I've a feeling I won't be alone.)

* * *

><p>("I'm going in!") Naruto shouted as he created more bushins.<p>

"Kid, wait!" Kid Flash made a grab for him, but the one he did grab vanished in a puff of smoke while the others leaped back into the field. "Whoa."

Naruto engaged Tetsumaru once more, this time more wary of his Kabano. But the brute did have other tricks up his sleeve as he made more signs. "Doton! Kyouruu Sekitsui (Dinosaur Spine) no Jutsu!" Tetsumaru slammed his Kabano onto the ground, where stalagmites emerged at alarming speeds. The bushins were impaled one by one, the real Naruto about to meet his end soon.

Suddenly, Kid Flash ran past and picked him up. "You really don't think much before you act, do you?" Kid Flash sarcastically commented. He ran towards Tetsumaru, and rammed right into him. The behemoth flew back, rolling across the ground. "Ow!" Kid Flash groaned, falling to his knees and gripping his shoulder. ("That felt like running into Superboy!") Tetsumaru got up, apparently unhurt but annoyed, nonetheless. He roared, swinging his weapon.

"Oi." Naruto groaned. "Brute force is not going to work."

Kid Flash, thinking along the same lines, contacted the team's strongest members. _"Superboy! Aqualad! We've got a powerhouse here! You're both needed right here!" _

"_Help M'gann!"_ Superboy said as he leaped in front of Wally West. Aqualad ran up to join them a second later.

("How strong?") Aqualad asked.

"Pretty damn strong." Kid Flash replied. "But shouldn't be a problem for you." The speedster ran off, while Superboy and Aqualad squared up against him.

Tetsumaru smirked, and set his kabano down. Cracking his knuckles, he suddenly charged at them. He cocked his fist back...while Superboy and Aqualad leaped into the air and hit him square in the face. He flew, landing in a tree and falling back down to the ground. He wiped the blood from his nose, looking at his attackers. He yelled a barbarian like scream.

"He's tough." Superboy confirmed. "I'm not sure he's even human."

"No matter what he is, we'll overcome him." Aqualad said, drawing two water hammers.

("I'm going to fight too.") Naruto suddenly announced as he struggled back to his feet, though only Superboy could understand him.

("You better stay back, kid. If he can take a punch from me, he's definitely trouble.") Superboy warned him.

( "I know that.") Naruto replied. ("But I'll never forgive myself if I just sit back and let others do the fighting for me.")

Superboy told Aqualad "He wants to fight."

"As long he sticks with us, I've no qualms."

* * *

><p>Gekishou once more sprouted arms, this time arming each with a sword. ("Let's see how you survive this, freak!") Miss Martian hovered precariously around him as she avoided his slashes. She tried using her telekinesis to blow them out of his hands, but he held firm. ("I don't think so!") Gekishou countered with a flip kick, and prepared to skewer the alien. However, steel wires bound his attacking weapon. Sasuke pulled; still, Gekishou did not relent. In fact, it seemed he was prepared to pull Sasuke towards him! Fortunately, that was all Miss Martian needed to telekinetically lift a rock and hurl it into her attacker's face. Gekishou rolled across the grass, spitting out dirt as he screamed in fury. ("I'll make you pay for that, you green bitch!")<p>

He ran towards her, but not before Sasuke intercepted him with a rear kick. Sasuke slashed at him with a kunai, but Gekishou rolled away. ("I don't care what you are, Uchiha or otherwise! Neither of you will defeat me here!") Gekishou then threw a black egg at Sasuke. Though the genin reacted in time to block it and save his eyes, that distraction was long enough for the missing nin to get away and attack Miss Martian again. Miss Martian hovered backwards as she tried to put distance between them, but Gekishou was too fast for her. Though she was not a particularly notable hand-to-hand combatant, she was able to hold him off with a few blocks. Gekishou jumped back as he flapped them in the air, trying to rid himself of the pain. _"She's a lot stronger than she looks!" _

He threw down a smoke bomb, seemingly vanishing from sight in an instant. "I know you're behind me." Miss Martian said as she lifted him off the ground, restraining his limbs.

("I should have known you'd have other tricks up your sleeve...then again, so do I!") He spat little scraps of paper in her face, which broke Miss Martian's concentration and released him. Not wasting a second, he quickly tossed an explosive tag in the mix, which immediately caused fireworks to go off all around her. Miss Martian fell face first into the dirt, completely vulnerable.

("I better get rid of you now...") Gekishou hissed as he drew a kunai...which was immediately pulled out of his hand by what seemed to be a very strong wind.

Kid Flash looked at the kunai carefully, and shrugged his shoulders. "Eh. Not as cool as Cheshire's sai, but it'll do." Kid Flash ran over to get Miss Martian out of danger and joined Sasuke. "Hey, wake up!" Kid Flash nudged her.

Miss Martian quickly regained consciousness and hovered, re-establishing their psychic link. "Careful." she warned him. "This one's tricky."

"So I figured." Kid Flash agreed. "But then again, so are we." The two began running towards him, and Sasuke, catching the drift, took after them.

Once they got close to him, they dispersed. Gekishou stayed sharp, ready for anything. Suddenly, Kid Flash zoomed by, trying to elbow him. Gekishou, predicting it ahead of time rolled away with expert timing. With each dodge, he placed a tag on the ground. ("Just one more...") Kid Flash was about to run by again; he would trigger a devastating explosion when he did. Even at the speed he was traveling, he was liable to lose both legs. It was already astounding the boy in gold could travel so fast; surely he couldn't go any faster, right? ("Yes!") Gekishou brought his fingers together.

Suddenly, Kid Flash accelerated, clearing the tags before they could explode. Several explosions rocked the immediate area, Gekishou being blown up into the air. By jumping at the exact moment the explosives went off, he was able to save all of his limbs. Unfortunately, the air was also where Sasuke awaited him ("Lion-combo!") He brought his heel down, bringing Gekishou back to earth.

"Ohhh..." Gekishou creaked his back as he prepared for another round. Sasuke suddenly leaped out of the grass, using as much taijutsu as he had to overwhelm his opponent. ("Don't get too cocky, boy!") Gekishou caught the boy's arms with his upper ones, and began to beat him with his lower ones. Though it hurt, Sasuke endured it and managed to kick off from him. Gekishou threw a hidden dagger at him, but Sasuke pulled a substitution and the weapon bounced off a rock. ("Damn!") Suddenly, he was lifted up into the air, where Miss Martian intercepted him in a choke hold. Though her technique wasn't great, her superior strength made up for it. Kid Flash once more appeared, and brought his fist into him with 10 times the frequency of a Wing Chung master.

Still, through it all, Gekishou remained conscious. ("Enough!") He brought his hands together in the sign of the dragon, a wind jutsu. "Futon! Fusha Taifuu (Windmill Typhoon) no Jutsu!" Suddenly, blades of wind swirled around him. Though Kid Flash dodged a fatal blow, it still cut deep into his kevlar uniform. "Ouch!" he yelped as he noticed his side begin to bleed. Miss Martian was forced to release him as well, but thankfully managed to regenerate her wound. Too bad the cyclone around Gekishou was mobile as long as he moved, which he did. He now had Miss Martian on the run as she tried to shake him off.

Sasuke observed it all as Kid Flash came to his side. _"What's going on!? Isn't that just...wind!?" _

"_Yeah. Wind that's been concentrated to slice anything short of an atom and spun at incredible speeds."_

"_I thought wind was just supposed to knock you over!"_

"_Enough!"_ Sasuke chided him. _"Wind will make fire stronger; if I can hit him, he'll be toast." _He tossed over wires weighted with kunai to Kid Flash. _"Bind him as fast as you can." _

Kid Flash nodded, and took off. Kid Flash ran towards Gekishou's side, throwing the wire overhead. Quickly, before any of the wind blades could cut him, he sped over to the other side and buried the kunai into the earth. He repeated the process at least three times as he cleared the way. Suddenly, the cutting cyclone Gekishou was in the middle of stopped moving, though it was quickly cutting its way through the wires. "Miss M, get away!" Kid Flash warned her. Miss Martian did so, already seeing in her mind what Sasuke was planning.

"Katon! Goukakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke launched a fireball...which then exploded like something out of a Michael Bay Film on contact with the chakra-enhanced wind.

"AHHH!" The wind around Gekishou finally stopped spinning as he flew into the air, then fell back to the ground as gravity took hold, smoking like a burnt piece of meat.

Quickly, Kid Flash ran over to him, looking worried. Taking a stick he found, he poked Gekishou. When the ninja moaned. Kid Flash let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. He's still alive."

* * *

><p>Artemis released a punch arrow, aiming for Akeno's skull. However the kunoichi blocked with a kodachi and was upon her in an instant. Sakura did a jump kick to move her away, but it did little good to damage her. "Is this the best you little brats can manage!?"<p>

Suddenly, bolas flew over to her, ensnaring her arms. Robin leaped out of the shadows and clocked her with a punch impressive for one of his stature. However, though she bled, Akeno had suffered far worse through her training. She smirked, and cut herself free. Robin tried to nail her with a birdarang, but Akeno seemingly vanished in a flurry of cherry blossoms. "What the-!?" Suddenly, the blossoms surrounded him, the colors in his vision becoming inverted. He also noticed that Artemis and the pink girl were out of sight. _"This must be an illusion..."_ Robin yelped as he fell to his knees in pain, gripping his bleeding arm. _"...I hope that was too."_ Robin tried to get away, but he kept sensing at the last minute someone trying to slice him. _"She knows where I am, and where I'll go...the question is, where are the others!?" _

"Kai!"

The scenery returned to normal, Robin noticing Sakura was now touching his shoulder in a peculiar fashion. "You broke me out of it." he said in realization

"Look out!" Sakura grabbed Robin and pushed him to the ground as Akeno attacked with her kodachi.

Artemis, however, fired another punch arrow, throwing the kunoichi into a tree. Akeno growled. "Brats, all of you-!" She lunged at Artemis, who blocked with her bow and jumped out of the way. Artemis countered with a few other arrows, which Akeno deflected and threw her own kunai with explosive tag.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura screamed as she flung her own kunai to knock it off course. The object exploded in Akeno's face, sending her back and infuriating her further.

"YOU! I'LL DEFINATELY TAKE YOUR HEAD FIRST!" Akeno blindly charged, and Robin intercepted with his kali sticks.

"Temper temper!" He whacked Akeno in the knee, clearly causing her pain, but the kunoichi countered with her own knee to Robin's head and sent him sprawling to the ground.

Artemis tried attacking with a high kick, but Akeno caught it easily and swept her off her feet. She took her weapon, preparing to finish her, but Sakura stepped in front and cross-blocked her. Though it took everything she got, she still managed to halt Akeno's blade a mere hair from her own head. "You-!" Quickly, Artemis fired her crossbow into Akeno's ankle, causing her to jump back and howl in pain. "You brats! HOW DARE YOU!?" She pulled the arrow out in rage, and made handsigns. "Itabaren (Painful Rose Garden) no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, thorns sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the three individuals. All screamed as thorns dug into their skin tight enough to draw blood. "Ugghh! Please tell me this is another illusion too!" Robin exclaimed.

"It is." Sakura said. "But I can't break free!"

Akeno twirled her blade as she managed to calm herself down. "You're smart not to resist. Even though the wounds aren't real, the pain is. If you struggle enough, your brain will perceive you loosing enough blood to die, and once your brain thinks its dead, you really will be." She then looked to Sakura. "But I don't have time for that. I have to kill you all before any more of your friends interfere...and I think I'll start with you!" she yelled pointing her blade at Sakura.

Artemis tried to aim her bow, but she couldn't point it directly at Akeno. Just as Akeno said, she could feel the "thorns" digging in as she struggled. "Ahhh..." The only place she could point the bow freely was up, and her other hand was bound in such a way to never reach it. She couldn't reach her quiver, unless she was willing to bite down on the tip of an arrow..._"Wait!"_ Artemis looked at the one arrow she could reach, and her hopes escalated. _"We may still have a chance!"_ Quickly, Artemis picked it with her teeth, then put the bow-string up to her mouth, using it to pull. It put great strain on her, and Artemis had a feeling she would need dentures after this, but that was a small price to pay if it meant saving their lives.

"You! What do you think you're doing!?" Akeno angrily demanded, taking her attention off of Sakura. Artemis released the arrow, which then exploded into a ball of light brighter than the sun. The pain to her eyes was enough to force Akeno to release her genjutsu.

Quickly, Robin ran over to Sakura and grabbed her arm. Firing his grappling gun into the trees, he lifted Sakura with him towards Akeno. Sakura kicked her up, while Robin released his grapple and elbowed her across the head. As Akeno struggled to stand, both worked in sync to send her flying with two roundhouse kicks to her mid-section. With the kunoichi's back against a tree, Artemis fired another arrow next to her head, embedding itself in the bark. A green gas spewed forward, causing Akeno to moan and fall face first. Robin quickly ran over to cuff her. "One down..."

* * *

><p>Superboy attempted to grapple Tetsumaru, the later realizing the former was much stronger than him. Quickly, he used a judo like throw to send him flying across the dirt. Though Superboy yelped in surprise, he got up like it was nothing. Aqualad leaped from Tetsumaru's side and surprised him with a round kick to the face; it surprised Tetsumaru more that he actually bled from that attack. Aqualad made two hammers with his waterbearers and attacked, Tetsumaru defending with his Kabano. With surprising speed, Tetsumaru spun around him and swung his Kabano behind Aqualad. The Atlantean, anticipating such a maneuver, blocked but the force was enough to burst the water and send him flying. Still, he remained conscious. Tetsumaru broke out in a sweat; he never met anyone before who could take this much punishment from him. ("What...what are they?")<p>

Suddenly, Naruto burst from underground, uppercutting the behemoth like he did Neji during his chunin exam. Though Tetsumaru stumbled, the giant ninja stood firm. ("You little brat!") Tetsumaru smashed him with an overhead fist. Though Naruto remained standing, he was on the brink of passing out. Quickly, Tetsumaru grabbed his head and squeezed. ("I practiced squeezing balls of marble to obtain my strength. I wonder how long your skull will last?")

("I'm not giving you a chance to find out!") Superboy descended upon Tetsumaru once more, and with a powerful punch, sent him rolling dozens of meters into the forest.

Tetsumaru struggled to rise, and coughed up blood, realizing how outmatched he was physically. _"I can't let him touch me!"_ Superboy was upon him again, and Tetsumaru found himself on the defensive using soft-blocks, a position and style he never imagined finding himself in. Still, Superboy caught him with a round kick to the leg, and Tetsumaru cried out as he felt his bone fracture. Tetsumaru quickly acted with ninjutsu. "Doton! RokuchChuuseki(Six Pillars) no Jutsu!" Superboy suddenly found himself surrounded by 6 pillars of stone, taller than the pieces at Stonehenge. As if by magic, they suddenly closed themselves in on him; Superboy only had just enough strength to hold them back for a moment. However, through some unknown force, they finally closed in on him.

"Phew!" Tetsumaru breathed a sigh of relief. He grunted in pain when he realized his leg was still broken. Quickly, he molded stone from the earth, and placed a stone cast over his leg. It hurt like hell, but at least it set the bones in their proper place.

As he prepared to leave, something like a whip cracked his face. "Let him go!" Aqualad, waterbearers drawn, prepared to attack him. Transforming them into swords, he slashed at the ninja, and managed to get a deep gash into his side. Tetsumaru quickly smashed Aqualad's ears, disorienting him. Before he could recover, Tetsumaru got perfect leverage on him and began to squeeze him in a clench, one that couldn't be broken out of by strength alone. Aqualad, however, did not intend to escape that way. Quickly, he jammed his fingers into his captor's armpits, and charged up the bio-electricity inside of him, giving him a good jolt.

Tetsumaru let go and fell back in shock, stumbling. He suddenly began to fall over completely, as one of Naruto's bushins lay on all fours to trip him up. The real Naruto ran up with a kunai before he hit the ground, aimed for a very special place. Jamming the sharp object up the giant's rear end, he yelled ("One Thousand Years of Death!") The kunai exploded, sending Tetsumaru screaming and hurtling in the air.

Aqualad just stared at him in shock. _"Okay...I don't want to know what goes on inside that head of yours..." _

"Ah!" Naruto yelled as he heard Aqualad's voice in his head, clamping down on his temples. ("There it is again! What the heck is going on!?")

Aqualad just rolled his eyes in disbelief. ("Apparently, telepathy is beyond the grasp of some people...") he said in his Atlantean tongue.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Tetsumaru came bursting through the forest, this time atop a giant boar the size of an elephant. Aqualad and Naruto prepared to defend themselves, though they weren't sure how much good they could do against something like that.

Suddenly, Superboy burst from his stone prison, ramming into the beast's leg. The boar screamed in pain as it toppled onto Superboy, who caught and supported the beast while Tetsumaru fell off with the grace of a hippo in mid air.

Before he had a chance to recover, Naruto summoned more bushins, some of which quickly transformed together into a long chain. Others spread out to his four corners as they dropped the chain all around him, and pulled, binding him. Though Tetsumaru struggled, in his wounded state he couldn't summon all of his strength.

Aqualad quickly ran up behind him, and got him into a sleeper hold, ending the fight within seconds. Once he lost consciousness, the boar disappeared, much to the astonishment of Superboy and Aqualad. "We can ponder about that later." Aqualad said. "One more enemy remains. We must defeat him!"

Though Naruto did not understand the spoken language, he just knew Aqualad was planning to help Kakashi. And that was something he was game for. As the others ran back to the battlefield, Naruto shouted ("Hang in there, Kakashi-sensei! Help is on the way!")

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Ishidate stared at each other, panting heavily. Both sported torn clothes, bruises and scratches. The two were evenly matched during much of their fight, but now it seemed Kakashi would come out the victor, as Ishidate was on his knee. ("It's over, Ishidate. You were a worthy opponent...") Kakashi made three signs, forming his famous Raikiri: energy in the palm of his hand in the form of electricity. Kakashi charged, preparing to impale Ishidate. However, he suddenly stopped as it felt like his insides would explode. His technique faded as he fell down on his knees in pain.<p>

Ishidate smiled, and laughed. ("Like it, Kakashi? During our scuffle, I scratched you with this.") Ishidate held up his hand, showing a ring with sharp edges. ("It's coated in a special poison. It activates upon activating a ninjutsu of your nature affinity. I was beginning to worry that you would never use such a technique.") He pulled a glove on that began to glow red veins, all leading to a yellow, gleaming eye in the center. ("This glove allows me to use an enhanced version of my petrifying jutsu. Rather than simply surround you with stone, it alters your molecular structure entirely and turns you into a fossil. And it is most certainly fatal.") He charged, but a birdarang flew in his face and exploded. Robin stood with both the Team and the 3 genin by his side. Ishidate growled in frustration. He wanted to say something discouraging...but they had somehow beaten all of his henchmen, and he was not in the best position to fight such a massive group of warriors.

"He's good." Aqualad said. "But now he's exhausted. Take him down!" he commanded.

The teens charged, trying all manner of attacking him physically. Though he dodged most of the blows, he wasn't fast enough to counter attack; he was on the complete defensive. Sphere suddenly ran into him from behind, making him stumble. Wolf then clamped his jaws around his wrist, his bite more powerful than any Ishidate had ever felt. Quickly, he stabbed the wolf in the shoulder with a hidden dagger. Though it didn't pierce his hide, it caused him enough pain to let go and temporarily escape with a smoke bomb. "He's running to the left!" Superboy called, his senses easily able to see through the smoke screen.

Kid Flash ran towards him, trying to collide with him. However, Ishidate reacted in time to flip upward and kick down on Kid Flash's cast arm. "OWWW!" Ishidate quickly followed up with a roundhouse kick to his head. Once he was unconscious, Ishidate readied his glove, hoping to turn an important organ into stone, but Aqualad used a water whip to yank his arm back before he had a chance. Ishidate winced as he felt his shoulder nearly dislocate. Aqualad quickly ran a current of bio electricity, bringing the ninja down in pain.

Ishidate made his signs with his free hand, and yelled "Doton! Deidoryudan(Mud Dragon Missile) no Jutsu!" Indeed, a projectile of mud, shaped like a dragon, rushed towards him and struck him down; the damage would have been much worse had he been an ordinary human.

Naruto quickly engaged him, managing to break his nose with a surprisingly powerful punch. However, Ishidate used some kind of jutsu to raise spikes from the earth. Sakura quickly tackled Naruto before he became genin kabob. That distraction out of the way, Ishidate fired another mud missile at Aqualad before he could regain his senses, but Sasuke ran in front of him, breaking up the attack with his Chidori, a lesser form of Kakashi's Raikiri. He ran through it, disintegrating the earthen materials and almost reaching him but was kicked away at the last moment. However, Sasuke wrapped his wires around the offending criminal, binding him. "Now!"

Artemis fired her arrows, the punch arrows bruising his face. He jumped and rolled in the air, dragging Sasuke towards him. Quickly, as the tension in the wires lessened, he grabbed him and held the Uchiha in front of him. ("If you care about these kids, I'd imagine you wouldn't want to hurt your friend here!") Suddenly, Sasuke's head turned 180 degrees, staring right back at him like an owl, with an unusually cocky and mischievous grin. "Ahh!" Ishidate let him go instinctively, startled. ("Wha-what are you!?")

Sasuke suddenly grew in height and turned green in color as "he" transformed into Miss Martian. _"We made the switch while you weren't looking."_ Miss Martian explained. She then used her powers to push him away, while the real Sasuke rode atop Wolf, throwing shuriken which Ishidate dodged by the skin of his teeth.

("You wretched brats!") Ishidate procured a katana, and threw it at Sasuke. However, Sphere rolled in and blocked it altogether. Robin came running at him, attacking with all sorts of kicks , but Ishidate grabbed his head and slammed him down on the ground.

He pulled his arm back, preparing to petrify him, but saw his hand was exposed. ("Looking for this?") Robin chocked out, holding the glove. Wolf ran by and snatched it in his jaws before Ishidate could retrieve it. Robin threw down a flash bomb with his other hand, blinding him. Once he was able to open his eyes, Sakura threw several kunai around him, each followed by scraps of paper. Preparations complete, she threw her explosive kunai. They all ignited, catching him in an explosion. He jumped away from the smoke, escaping the epicenter and any potential debilitating damage.

Suddenly, both Aqualad and Superboy double-teamed him; though he blocked their first punches, they struck his nerves with pain he never knew before as he cried out. Aqualad quickly grabbed him, electrocuting him. Superboy then took his turn, grabbing hold of his collar and leaping 30 feet into the air with him, slamming him back down to the ground.

Before he had a chance to land, Naruto and his army kage bushin leaped into the air. ("Time to finish this!") they all yelled. ("Uzumaki Two Thousand Punches Barrage!") All hit him simultaneously, and soon after, fell to the ground unconscious.

Ishidate had fought and overcome many things, but facing the copy ninja had greatly weakened him, and it was enough for his genins and these strangers to eventually overcome him.

* * *

><p>As the team left to restrain the attacking ninja the best they could, Team 7 scrambled to help their sensei. Quickly, Kakashi instructed Sakura on what to do.<p>

"Is this the one?" Sakura asked as she held up a vial that came from one of his scrolls.

"Yeah." he wheezed. "I'm familiar with the poison he used on me. I kept the antidote with me for just such an occasion." Kakashi was sweating profusely and breathing rapidly now. "Hurry. I don't have much time." Sakura quickly supported his head...and suddenly Kakashi grabbed it from her, and turned around out of her view as he gulped it down.

"HEY!" Sakura yelled. She was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to see Kakashi's face. Quickly forgetting about it, Sakura helped eased his once-again masked face down on the ground comfortably.

Meanwhile, the team was tending to their own wounds, though none as severe as Kakashi. Namely that of a certain speedster. And Artemis was playing the reluctant nurse. "Ow!" Wally protested as Artemis fidgeted with his bandage.

"Quiet!" Artemis scolded him as she tightened the bandages. "You were supposed to do rescue only."

"Heat of the moment I guess." Kid Flash replied sheepishly.

Artemis' face softened slightly. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're alright." Kid was momentarily stunned by her gentleness.

"If anything, I owe you an apology, Kid." Aqualad interrupted as he watched the two. "If I had not been so caught up in the battle, I would have been more observant and ordered you to stay on the sidelines"

Kid Flash only smiled and said "Aw, don't worry about that Kaldur. You know I would have anyway; hero's duty and all that."

"That's not exactly an admirable trait, Kid." Aqualad sighed.

"It's called stupidity." Artemis said as she finished up. "There. It doesn't look like anything's broken any worse than before." she said in an unusually calm tone towards him. She then gave him her usual glare. "But go try breaking another bone, I'm going to make you stay in a wheel chair until you actually heal, one way or another." Kid Flash had a feeling he didn't want to know what she had in mind to make that possible.

"Now that we've verified we're okay..." Robin said. "...I guess we need some explanations and offer some of our own as well."

The team turned to look at Team 7, who were staring right back at them. Naruto and his friends couldn't get over how colorful each one was. Not only did they each look and dress differently, their abilities and fighting styles seemed completely different as well. The strangest of them all to them was the green girl. Aside from her skin color, she was able to fly without any apparent force and could change her form at will. That made them wonder if what they saw before them was her true form. The dark-skinned one was also something of an oddity. At a glance, he looked normal. But upon seeing his webbed digits and gills, they could see he was not human as well. The tall muscular (and cute, in Sakura's opinion) one seemed normal enough, but having seen his inexplicable power and invulnerability, they knew there was something more to him. They observed the yellow one's incredible speed at quick bursts. The last two seemed to be normal human beings. However, Sakura saw first hand how they had several tricks and tools to make up for their otherwise average abilities. The boy with the mask and the cape was the youngest, about their age it seemed. Yet the way he moved compared to the others suggested he had more experience than his older peers.

The others regarded Team 7 with curiosity as well. Though they all looked Asian, the blonde boy and the girl were so colorful that it implied mixed heritage (or alien, if pink was her natural color). All seemed to have exceptional athleticism and durability. The two boys intrigued them, though with their extraordinary abilities.

Robin put his hand behind his head. "So...I guess I have to play interpreter?" he asked his friends.

"I guess..." Kid Flash consented. "...though it may not be the most practical. A conversation without a middle man would be helpful"

"I've got an idea." Miss Martian said. She concentrated, her eyes glowing green.

Team 7 winced as the sensation passed over them. It wasn't painful, just...strange. "Oh...that was weird..." Naruto said.

"Hey..." Robin said. "You just spoke English!

"Enguruish!?" Naruto questioned, pronouncing it like a Japanese never exposed to the western languages. "Never heard of it! And no, I'm not speaking it! You weirdos are finally talking normal!"

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura smacked him upside the head, and pinched his ear while the others looked on.

Sakura's attitude towards her teammate caught the attention of Kid Flash in particular. _"Artemis 2.0. Perfect. Like I needed to deal with 2 of them!" _

"Sorry for my friend's rude behavior." Sakura bowed apologetically. "But he's right. It's not that we're speaking your language, you're speaking ours."

"No." M'gann replied. "We're not. I linked us. We're speaking English, you're speaking Japanese..."

"What kind of a name is that for a language!?" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura smacked him upside the head again in response. "Ow..." the blonde ninja whined, holding his head.

"...well, it sounds similar to another language native to our world anyway." Miss Martian explained before she continued. "Anyway, we're both speaking our native language, and each of us is hearing our language from the other party, so long as we're linked up mentally." The three ninjas (or two of them...the dark one didn't seem to particularly care) slowly nodded in acceptance.

"Okay..." Superboy interrupted. "...which one of us should go first?" The rest of the team thought for a moment.

"We should probably go." Aqualad said. "After all, we are visitors in this world."

Now that got the kids' attention. _"Aliens?"_ Naruto thought.

Sakura was thinking the same thing. _"That would explain how they can do the things they do."_

"You may call me Aqualad." The dark one said, extending his hand. The ninjas just stared at his hand, not getting near. Aqualad looked down at it; either they didn't understand the gesture of a handshake, or they were put off by his webbed hand. Probably a bit of both.

"Japanese culture typically involves little to no physical contact, especially between strangers." Robin informed Aqualad. "Bow. That's more their thing."

Aqualad did so. "Aqualad?" Sasuke questioned. "Interesting. Your abilities seem to justify that. But...that's not your real name, is it?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, shocked by his behavior. "You're being rude!"

"And they're being rude by not telling us their real names!" was Sasuke's only reply. "If you want us to trust you, drop the code names and tell us your real names!"

"I'm sorry." Aqualad replied. "I do not blame you for your suspicions. Many of us have 'code names' to protect our true identities while we're on duty. I can't give you their real names without their permission. But, if it would appease you, I can give you mine. My real name is Kalduron." Sasuke nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm Artemis." the archer exclaimed.

The one in yellow stated his name as well. "Kid Flash."

The green one, sensing the tension diminishing, flew over to them. "On missions I go by the name Miss Martian. But my real name is M'gann Morzz." She then directed their attention to her "extended" family. "This is Superboy, Wolf and Sphere..."

Naruto and Sakura looked at her confusedly upon hearing the names of the two non-sapien members. "Wow. Really creative names they've got there." Naruto groaned, to which wolf gave him a slight snarl in response. Sakura would have given him another whack, but she was thinking along the same lines. Even Sasuke had to agree with them, though he would never admit it.

Miss Martian continued. "And this is..."

"Robin!" The caped kid exclaimed as he ran in front of them, waving his hand. It seemed he was trying to get the girl's attention in particular. Realizing how suspicious that may have looked, he reiterated "Uh...I mean, I'M Robin."

Both Sakura and Naruto's eyebrows quirked. Sakura was irritated that another boy other than Sasuke tried to get her attention, and Naruto did not like the idea of more competition in general. _"I thought you were into Zatana."_ Artemis questioned the boy wonder telepathically.

"_Dog."_ Wally commented along the same line.

Robin chuckled, stroking the back of his head like his hand was caught in the cookie jar, thankful that the new link with the strangers was verbal and not psychic.

"Well, now that you've given us some kind of names, I guess we should introduce ourselves." the girl said. "I'm Sakura Haruno." Robin and the others fluent in Japanese guessed that M'gann's link reversed the order in which they said their names, so that they spoke like westerners. Using her arms, she directed their attention to her two teammates. "This is Sasuke Uchiha, and this..."

"I am Naruto Uzumaki!" The blonde one proudly announced as he pumped his arms into the air. "Konoha's #1 ninja! And you'll find that out for sure once I become Hokage!"

The team only gave him a blank stare while Sakura only looked at him mortified. "You idiot!" she yelled. "Must you shout out that stupid dream of yours to everybody we come into contact with!?"

"Hey." Naruto said softly, trying to calm her down. "I only say it because it's true."

"Okay..." Robin said. "Don't really know what that is, but thanks for letting us know."

Artemis only looked on. "Wow. I think I have to take back some of the things I've said about you being annoying." she said to the yellow speedster.

Kid Flash only gave her a sour look. "Some?"

Sakura sighed. "Okay, now that we've got that out of the way...the man behind us is Kakashi Hatake, our jonin instructor."

Robin's eyes seemed to quirk in annoyance. "What?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing. Just had several other bad experiences with another guy named Scarecrow."

"What hap-"

"I HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE." Robin answered, no desire to go any further than that.

Sakura, being the diplomat for her teammates in this situation, bowed for them. "It's nice to meet all of you. And thank you all again for saving us."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all as well." Aqualad said. "How long until your mentor recovers?"

Sakura shrugged. "Hard to say. Until tomorrow morning at least; he was poisoned and has been using an ability that drains him considerably, even at perfect health; the last time he used it he was bed ridden for 3 days."

"Well, that settles it then." Artemis announced "Looks like we're stuck with you until he gets better."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Naruto shouted. "We handled ourselves out there, and we can take care of ourselves just fine, thank you very much!"

"Indeed, you are all very capable individuals." Aqualad said, trying to calm him down. "We have seen that for ourselves. But we have also seen the threats here; we can't leave you here by yourselves." Aqualad emphasized.

"Don't take it personally." Robin said, smiling. "It's our job to do these kinds of things."

"Besides, all the dangers here are a threat to us." Miss Martian added. "Since we're new here, it would help if you three could show us around and look out for us."

"Okay. Deal." Sasuke aid. His other teammates were shocked he agreed so readily. "What?" he asked them. "Kakashi's out of commission, we're both worn down and for all we know, those scum we have taken down may have allies coming. We need to work together if we're going to survive the night."

"Sounds good to me." Kid Flash chimed in. Everyone noticed he was starting to hunch over, clutching his stomach.

"Uh, you okay there?" Naruto asked.

"Kid Flash, didn't you bring your snacks!?" Artemis asked.

"Well...actually, I thought my role in this mission would be pretty minimal. So, I didn't bother packing them."

The team hung their heads low in annoyance. "Got anything to eat?" Robin asked the three ninja.

* * *

><p>Later that night, a sickening sound could be heard throughout the forest."Umph! Shirpp!"<p>

Naruto looked on in horror as Kid Flash ate the last of his ramen cups. As usual, he packed a lot of ramen for his trip, and he didn't know whether seeing it gone in under 24 hours or seeing someone eat it all was more traumatic. "Uh, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "H-how many cups was that!?" she shouted in fright.

"I think about 50."

Kid Flash tossed the cup into the fire as he finished, just like all the rest. "Got anymore?"

Team 7 fell over in shock. "Here. Why don't you try this instead?" Sakura gave him what seemed to be round pill.

"Uh, what is this? And just how, pray tell, is this supposed to sate my appetite, assuming you're not slipping me a date drug?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's a food pill." Sasuke explained. "It has enough calories and nutrients to carry a person the entire day going all out without rest."

"Ah!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Like a senzu bean!" Clearly Team 7 and some of Wally's own teammates did not know what he was talking about.

"Just shut up and take it!" Sasuke snapped. "Watching you eat sickens me!"

Artemis sighed. "Trust me when I say this isn't the worst you've seen. At home he eats enough deep-fried food and grease to put a normal man into a diabetic coma daily."

Sasuke and Naruto stared in horror at him, while Sakura scribbled something down. _"Note to self: find out how to duplicate high risk life-style while still maintaining figure."_

Kid Flash swallowed the pill, and noticed the change. "Wow...I AM feeling a lot better now. It's not food, but it will do. Got another?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "J-just how many calories do you need?"

"Just one more, and I should be good. I swear." Sakura reached into her pouch and tossed him another. Kid Flash quickly swallowed it, as he gave a lazy grin and leaned back. "Oh yeah. That sure hit the spot."

"Is it safe to come out now?" Superboy's voice from the forest asked.

"Yes, Superboy. It seems our new friends here have managed to sate Kid." M'gann giggled.

"Really? Fascinating." Superboy stepped out carrying a huge rack of fish he caught from a river nearby, Wolf trailing behind him.

"Hey!" Kid Flash shouted. "How long have you been there with all that!?"

"Long enough. Sorry Kid; even if the rest of us were wiling to starve, I've still got to feed Wolf." He tossed his pet a fish, which Wolf gleefully devoured. "Hang on, boy. There's more coming."

Soon after, the barbeque got going. Both teams enjoyed their fire-cooked fish, and silently agreed to share stories. And it was Naruto who surprisingly started the conversation. "You guys said you were from another planet?"

"Yes, Naruto..."Aqualad replied, smiling. "Though not in your solar system. In fact..." Aqualad frowned at the thought of it. "...I fear we may not even be of the same universe." How else could he explain an alien planet that carried a language identical on earth?

"How is that possible? How did you get here?" Sakura asked.

"We were assigned to investigate energy spikes in a region of our world similar to yours." Aqualad said.

"Those spikes may have been related to similar ones we've encountered that served as gateways to other worlds." Superboy interrupted. "That's how I met Sphere." Superboy petted his mechanical pet affectionately.

"But weapons have been brought to our world from another." Aqualad continued.

"I get it! You were sent there t stop them from smuggling any more in!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, more or less." Aqualad chuckled. "But the energy signatures were different; we investigated to find out why."

"And did you find out why?" Naruto asked.

"No." Robin answered. "But we did find one key difference. The ones we know of are called 'Boom Tubes', distortions in space and time that lead from one world to the next. This one though had a physical gateway, like they have in those pagoda castles. We tried to sabotage it, but we were found out."

Kid Flash then told his part of the story. "The gate opened and began to suck them in. I ran and tried to pull them out...but then this stranger showed up. He was covered in a cloak and I couldn't make out any other features on him. But he did have this eye."

Suddenly, Sasuke turned up to look at him. "An eye!?" His outburst surprised his own teammates. "What did it look like?"

Kid Flash looked at him funny. "Well...it was red. Not like pink eye, mind you. The iris itself was naturally red. And...and...ugh!"

"What?" Artemis asked.

"It's hard for me to describe." Kid Flash began. "But...it's almost as if he had 'mini-pupils'. All surrounding the main one."

Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated. "Eyes like this?" Sasuke opened his eyes, revealing his Sharingan.

"Yes!" Kid Flash exclaimed, pointing at him. "Like that!"

"What!?" Aqualad exclaimed. "How is that possible!?"

"These eyes..." Sasuke explained, "...are called the Sharingan. And with the exception of Kakashi, it is exclusive to my clan. Did you catch anything else from this man?"

"There is one thing." Superboy said. "He mentioned he was part of some organization called 'Akatsuki'. Ring a bell?"

The three genin shook their heads no. "Never heard of them." Naruto sighed.

"Well, if what you say about those eyes are true, this is good news for us; it means we weren't sent here by accident." Robin stated. "Luthor KNEW where the portal would go. He's making the connection on purpose."

"Then we CAN get back; that is indeed good news." Aqualad agreed. "But we don't know where to look or how to go back."

"Don't worry!" Naruto exclaimed. "You helped us out, we'll gladly help you get back home!"

Everyone just looked at him funny. "Uh...Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Do you even know HOW to send them back home?"

Naruto hung his head low. "No..."

* * *

><p>The fire was dying down. But the two teams were not ready to sleep just yet. There was so much they wanted to know about one another. "So..." Robin started. "Who wants to go the first round of 20 questions?"<p>

"Ooh! Ooh!" Naruto waved his hand. "I'll answer all your questions!"

"Oh kami." Sakura moaned. "We're not going to go anywhere with you. Besides..." Sakura stared at all of them. "I want to know about you! Why do you dress like you do? How did you obtain your abilities? And...and..."

Kid Flash sighed. "Tell you what: we'll flip a coin." He showed the genin the coin. "When choosing between two sides, we flip this coin in the air; it has two engravings, one on each side. We chose a side, and whichever one it lands on is the winner. Heads..." he showed them the head of George Washington. "...and Tails." He showed the eagle on the other side. "Your call."

"Tails!" Naruto shouted.

"Wait!" Sakura shouted back. "Heads! I want Heads!"

"Too late. Tails for you it is." Kid Flash flipped the coin...and it landed on Tails. "Okay. I guess this means you tell us a little about yourselves." Kid Flash said. "So...go."

Sakura and Naruto found themselves speechless. Artemis then looked at Sasuke. "Um...your friends seem to be having a little bit of trouble getting started here. Wanna help out?"

"Could care less, really."

Artemis sighed. "Nice guy, that one is." she whispered to Aqualad.

"Why don't we ask questions and you answer as best you can?" Aqualad suggested. "According to Robin, you are all ninjas; while I can see that for myself, I'm surprised they so readily let you out on the field at such a young age."

"Well, you have to pass the academy first." Sakura said. "All children of shinobi in our villages have to be educated on the basics of ninjutsu before they go on active duty. Once their academy teachers feel they have a grasp on the basic concepts, they pass." She then looked at Naruto. "Though I don't know how YOU passed. You were held back twice and you failed the time I graduated as well."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto moaned. "I told you, it was my kage bushin jutsu!"

"That is very interesting, but I'd like to hear more about your 'education'." Aqualad interrupted.

"Sorry. Anyway, once we graduate, we are assigned a jonin instructor...an elite ninja...and he evaluates us for field duty. They determine whether we're ready, have to be sent back...or expelled from the program entirely. We nearly where when we demonstrated terrible teamwork together, but passed us once we decided to not stand idly by while Naruto was punished."

Aqualad's eyes widened in concern. "What..."

"We weren't supposed to eat the bentos Kakashi prepared for us until we caught the bells from him. Naruto tried to cheat his way out for a meal and got tied to the stump." Sakura explained.

"Oh."

"Anyway, once our jonin instructor approves, we become, genin, low ranking ninja. We usually do mundane chores and community service since we're still in training..."

"But we do get some cool jobs, like being body guards!" Naruto chimed in.

"THAT mission we were never supposed to have taken!" Sakura shouted. "Each mission is given a rank; genin usually get D and C ranked missions, but we were tricked into taking on an A rank mission! We wouldn't have survived without Kakashi-sensei by our side!"

"Yikes." Robin winced.

"Will you be promoted?" Aqualad asked.

"To chunin? That's essentially regular ninja, FYI" Sakura explained. "We took the chunin exam, but there were...complications. I don't think anyone who participated made it this year."

"After what I've seen you all go through today and how you handled yourselves, I'm sure you will do well in the future." Aqualad complemented them.

"I've got one, if you don't mind me asking, Kaldur." Miss Martian interrupted. "I'd like to know more about your world. Or just this location; up to you."

Sakura thought for a moment. "Well...I guess I could tell you a little bit, though most of my knowledge pertains mostly to this continent. The countries have only recently begun exploring the rest of the world I hear." She gathered her thoughts for a moment. "This continent is divided into many nations, although only 5 are the dominant super powers: Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, and Fire, where we're currently in and where we're from."

"Wow." Robin quipped. "You do realize you've just ripped off 'Avatar the Last Airbender', right?" Clearly showing they did not understand what he was talking about, Robin shook his head. "Never mind; go on."

"Anyway, each of these nations contain powerful shinobi villages. Though many other countries have similar villages, only the 5 I mentioned have what is called 'The Kage System.' The village's leader is designated a Kage to the country's corresponding element. For example, we're in Fire Country, so our village leader would be the Hokage."

"Ohh, now I get it." Robin exclaimed. "That's what you were talking about earlier." he said, pointing to Naruto.

Naruto giggled and scratched his head. "Yeah, pretty much."

"And he would actually have a chance, if he paid any attention during his academy years!" Sakura suddenly scolded him, causing Naruto to hang his head down low. Sakura looked at him and sighed. "Although to be fair, he has improved a lot recently, and he is brave, and he can be clever when he wants to be." Naruto smiled a bit. _"I really need to know how to differentiate from being critical and mean."_ Sakura reminded herself. Ever since Sasuke talked down to her for making fun of Naruto, she realized she was being as bad as the girls who bullied her, and made an effort to change the way she behaved around him. And truth was, she was glad to be on the same team as him. She began to see another side to him, and found herself growing stronger, if only a little bit, because of him.

"Well, I look forward to meeting your Hokage." Aqualad said. "I just hope he or she will be of some help getting us home."

Sakura and Naruto hung their heads low. "Well..." Naruto said. "...we've got a problem on that one. You see, the Third died."

"Killed in battle." Sakura emphasized. "Since he didn't have time to pick a successor, the village is desperately trying to hold it together."

"I apologize." Aqualad said. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"You couldn't have known." Sakura smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry if we're going off on a tangent here, but I have to ask." Superboy said. "If these shinobi villages reside in these countries, do they take orders from whoever runs the country?"

"Sometimes, and sometimes not." Sakura said. "Officially, our villages are independent of the countries we reside in, and if they want us to do a mission, they have to pay the village for their services. Other countries can hire us as well. The Hokage can turn them down, though I've never heard of any such instances."

Kid Flash raised his hand. "I noticed the two of you do amazing things. Duplication, fireballs, lightning...are you guys born with those abilities?"

"No, silly." Sakura giggled. "It's through training. We just manipulate our chakra to do those things, although Naruto and Sasuke-kun's ninjutsu are amazing compared to mine." Everyone noticed how Naruto lit up at having his ninjutsu being called amazing and how it was Sakura who said it.

"Chakra?" KF questioned.

"It's a form of internal energy." Robin clarified for him. "Although, it's usually an Indian term used for yoga and their native martial arts. I would have thought that ninjas would refer to their energy as 'ki'."

"Ki?" Sakura asked. "That's usually a part of samurai techniques."

"Oh." Robin responded. "Interesting."

"So, maybe we can learn it!?" Kid Flash asked excitedly.

"It will take years, especially if you don't even understand the concept of chakra." Sasuke said.

"Naw. Mine only took me a couple hours." Naruto insisted.

"Your stupid technique doesn't count, idiot."

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled. "SAY IT TO MY FACE!"

Sakura did her best to push both boys away. "Honestly, you two act like children at times!"

"I don't think that will be necessary either way; we need to get back home as soon as possible." Aqualad reminded them.

"I'm sorry; I know you must have so many more questions, but I'm just dying to know about your world." Sakura asked with child-like curiosity unusual for her.

"Yeah, me too!" Naruto grinned.

"Okay. I suppose it's getting late. We'll try to answer as many as we can before retiring for the night." Aqualad agreed.

"How do YOU guys do the things you do!?" Naruto asked.

"Oh boy." Robin chuckled. "This is going to take a while." Robin cleared his throat. "Well, in Artemis's and my case, we weren't born with powers. Our mentors trained our physical and mental abilities. I have to admit, it can be frustrating being the normal people on the team, but we manage to help each other out and there have been times when having no powers came in handy."

"How did your mentors choose you?" Sakura asked.

Robin and Artemis looked to each other. On one hand, they were planning to go back home anyway, so there shouldn't have been harm in revealing their secret identities to them. But then they remembered they were in front of their teammates. "Next question." They both said.

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled. "Come on! You said we could ask anything!"

"If Robin, Artemis, or any of my other teammates do not wish to share their personal information, they have a right to withhold it." Aqualad sternly told him.

Naruto sighed, reluctantly agreeing to his terms."Well, what about the names? How'd you come up with those?" the blonde asked.

"Personal." Robin said dead pan, frustrating Naruto to no end.

"That one I don't have a problem with." Artemis said. "You see, we have many cultures on our world with many different deities. In Greek mythology...sorry, you probably never heard of that place...has a goddess of the hunt who uses a bow. Artemis."

"Wow!" Sakura smiled. "It's perfect for you!"

"Thank you." Artemis chuckled. "Although I don't have any divine powers as Robin said, I just hope the real deal doesn't mind. Can't afford a lawyer for copyright infringement." Though the joke was lost on Team 7, Naruto and Sakura chuckled anyway.

"What about you?" Naruto said to Kid Flash. "Can you teach me how to do those super fast things?"

"Well, it's not something that's 'taught' as much as it is acquired. First, you'll need 100 ml of Sodium Nitrate, 300 ml of Sulfuric acid..." Sakura began scribbling down the list of chemicals, determined to duplicate this experiment and be able to eat her favorite junk foods without getting fat. "And then shock yourself with 30,000 volts of electricity." Kid Flash finished.

"Wait! WHAT!?" Sakura and Naruto yelled.

"Yeah. In hindsight, that could have wound up really bad for me. But my mentor took 10 times that amount and he turned out fine."

"And he's still a lot faster than you." Robin chuckled.

"In more ways than one I'd imagine." Artemis dryly commented.

"HEY! Come on!"

Sakura looked at the notes and sighed, crumbling her piece of paper and throwing it into the fire. _"No. Not worth it."_ she told herself

"And as a side effect his metabolism is off the charts!" Robin continued to goad on him. "He may get to eat all of his favorite foods, but most people would go bankrupt feeding him!"

Kid Flash shrugged. "Yeah. Can't argue with that, I'm sorry to say."

"Okay okay. What about you?" Naruto asked, pointing to Aqualad.

"Well, I was born with some of my abilities, others I've had to learn. You see, I am of a different race than Robin, Artemis and Kid Flash. I'm an Atlantean. My kind has most of the same evolutionary traits of man, but with the key difference being we evolved to live under the sea."

"You...you can breathe underwaterwater!?" Naruto asked, becoming more astonished with time.

"Yes." Aqualad smiled as he turned his neck to show off his gills. "In addition, we're gifted with heightened senses and durability to survive the depths of the sea; the pressure alone would kill a normal person. Our society is somewhat different too. While many of my race look similar, my ethnic group in particular is noted for having gills on the outside of our bodies. In addition, there are others who are more fish-like than human in appearance. Some of us are educated in Atlantean Sorcery; there we learn how to manipulate the water and use the bio-electricity within our bodies as a weapon."

"WOW!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed with child-like glee.

"Yes. My tattoos here are a marking of my time at the conservatory, allowing me to channel my energy. My teacher was also my Queen." By now both Naruto and Sakura were stunned silent. "However, my King offered me a chance to become his protegee, and I accepted. I had to drop out of the academy, and as a result I didn't make it to the next level where my tattoos would become visible only when I'm using my sorcery. But I don't regret any of it." Aqualad smiled, though it softened slightly. _"Well, maybe a little..._

Sakura then turned to Superboy. It took her a good fifteen seconds to say the words. "I...I wouldn't mind learning about you, Superboy-kun."

Superboy could easily see in the dark how her cheeks flushed and hear her heartbeat accelerate. Miss Martian chuckled. _"You're not bothered?"_ Superboy asked her telepathically.

"_Why should I be? I've already got you. Besides, it's cute." _

Superboy sighed. "You can call me Conner if you want. That's the name I go by when I'm not on duty."

Sakura nodded happily, while Naruto looked on annoyed. _"Great; Sakura's taste in men sucks as usual."_

"Anyway, it's a bit...complicated. I'm kind of from a different planet than everyone else in this group."

"WHAT!?"

"By kind of...okay. In our universe there existed a world called Krypton. It was home to an advanced race that looked identical to humans. However, their world was destroyed, killing everyone. All except one, whose parents put him in a space ship to escape the planet's destruction, coming to the planet everyone else in my group is from. The planet he was from had a red sun, but because our earth has a yellow sun, he could absorb the solar radiation and it gave him powers beyond imagining. It made him as strong as steel, granted him the power of flight, enhanced senses, even the ability to project energy from his eyes."

"WOW! THAT'S AWESOME!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Anyway, he became one of the greatest heroes of our world: Superman. However, some worried that eventually something would kill him, or worse, he would turn on our world. So, an organization specializing in genetics collected his DNA..." Superboy looked at them, realizing what he was stepping into. "Uh...you DO know what DNA is, right?"

Naruto stared at him for the longest time, trying to come up with an answer. "...no idea." he finally relented.

"It's the building blocks of life Naruto. It's found in every cell in your body, determining not only your humanity, but what you look like, what you're vulnerable too, and even determine predispositions to your talents." Sakura said.

"WOW! You're amazing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course, this is what you get for not paying attention in class." she muttered.

Superboy decided now was as good a time as ever to continue. "Anyway, now that we got that out of the way...an organization called Cadmus collected Superman's DNA, and proceeded to clone him. The result...was me."

"WHAT!?" Sakura nearly screeched. "YOU WERE BORN JUST LIKE THAT!?"

"More or less; I just turned 7 months old."

Sakura's skin went pale as she felt her mind break. _"I had the hots for a baby!?"_ she thought in horror. Naruto was equally stunned. Even Sasuke's stoic face broke character as he gave a look that could only be described as disturbed.

"Uh...okay." Naruto said, accepting it. "What about your Wolf?"

Wolf perked up upon hearing his name. "He was injected with a substance that increased his size, strength, and intelligence as well. Found him on a mission where he was used as an attack dog. We fought, and I guess we came to kind of like one another. When we were getting ready to leave, he followed us and made it known he wanted to come with. So I adopted him."

Naruto then turned to Miss Martian uncertain on just what to ask. "Uh..."

"I guess it's my turn." Miss Martian said, chuckling. "Like Superboy, I come from a different planet from the rest as well. However, instead of being from another solar system like Krypton once was, I'm from the planet right next door to theirs: Mars. My uncle works alongside my teammates' mentors, and one day I took my ship and came to visit him."

"So, your powers..." Sakura asked. "They're natural?"

"Yes. Everyone of my kind has the same psychic and shape-shifting abilities."

"Wow! I'd like to visit your planet!" Naruto said.

"Uh...yeah. I don't think that's a good idea. It's got less gravity, very little oxygen, freezing cold temperatures and the surface is pure desert. In fact, we live underground from the surface. We evolved to shape-shift in order to adapt to the harsh environment."

"And...your skin?"

Sakura smacked him over the head again. "Naruto! How dare you be so rude!"

"It's okay, Sakura. It's just a common trait among my people. Some are even white-skinned..." She looked towards the rest of her teammates except Aqualad. "More white than you. Like ivory." she clarified. "So, I came to Earth, and my uncle took care of me for the first few months until the team was formed, and I've been living with them since. And my powers are a result of my kind's evolution. Our brains allow us to move matter via will, and communicate mentally. We can even read minds."

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed as he put his fingers to his temple. "Quick! Read my mind! I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10! Can you-"

"3 trillion. Liar." Miss Martian giggled. "And the only answer to your other question is 'none of your business'."

Everyone at first wondered what she meant...then it dawned on all of them. _"I am so glad we told her not to read OUR minds without permission." _Kid Flash thought.

Naruto, finding out he had been caught, panicked. "W-wait! I didn't ask you to blurt that...! I'm sorry! I didn't intend to actually ask that!"

"NARUTO, YOU BAKA!" Sakura yelled as clocked him with a hard right.

"Now now, Sakura, don't be so harsh on him." Miss Martian said. "It's natural for boys minds to wander that direction. Girls too, really."

"W-what!?" Sakura shouted. "I-I have no such th-"

"Then what was that dream you had the other night? You know, the one involving Sasuke, leather and cake?" she asked, giving her a mischievous smile.

Everyone was stunned silent while Sakura looked around her mortified. Even Naruto gave her a look that said "The Hell!?" She then turned to Sasuke. _"Surely, he will understand!"_ Sasuke gave her a weird look that seemed to be a cross between vindication and horror, and scooted a couple of inches away from her. "AHH!" she screamed, clutching her head. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Okay, point made!" Miss Martian assured her. "Leaving your mind, now!" Though she felt nothing, the look on Miss Martian's face looked sincere. "Sorry. I usually don't enter minds without permission...unless they're bad guys...but I couldn't resist to show you."

"Don't take it personal." Superboy told them. "She means no harm with reading minds. That's just how her kind communicates and interacts normally. Let her know if she oversteps her boundaries."

After everyone calmed down from the mind freak out, Naruto asked a question. "Okay. I get how you're all different. But, what brings you all together? And why?"

"Well, in a way, we're not that different from you." Aqualad said. "In our world, we have heroes. Super heroes, as they are called, men and women with extraordinary skills who can accomplish things normal people can't. Our mentors and many more form a coalition called 'The Justice League'. Unlike you, who serve and protect their homes...although many of them do that as well...their goal is to protect the entire world, from threats both outside and within."

"Wow. And they're completely independent?" Sakura asked.

"To some extent. They need to work with the approval of a coalition of sovereign nations in order to operate without being attacked, but they do not exist to serve any one type of government, and will outright refuse to aid others if they feel they violate fundamental human rights. And unlike your village, most members aren't paid unless their hero persona is their public identity. Many have secret identities and other careers, and protect themselves with code names, like we do. Others simply take on code names to differentiate themselves from other members. And we are...or used to be...what they call 'sidekicks'."

" A certain archer would chew you out for that. And no, I'm not talking about Miss Personality here." Kid Flash joked, thumbing Artemis.

"Thank you." she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Anyway, the term 'sidekicks' is usually applied to junior super heroes who apprentice under another hero. We're currently training for our own independence and for the chance to fight alongside our mentors as equals." Aqualad explained.

"Your world sounds amazing." Sakura commented.

"I'm almost tempted to bring you all to our world just to show you." Robin said.

"But the problem would be getting you back. I wouldn't wish for anyone else to be stuck in the same boat as we are now." Aqualad said. "It's getting late; I think we should turn in now. Sphere will let us know if danger approaches." Both parties agreed, and turned in, getting what rest they could.

* * *

><p>Hope this was a good enough meeting for the characters. Next Time: ONWARD! TO KONOHA!<p>

Buto Senpou No Jutsu-Dancing Whirlwind Technique


	4. Crossroads

Memories of the battle flooded Kakashi's mind. How they were about to lose everything. And then the strangers, not much older than his genin team. Slowly, he felt himself wake with the sunrise. "Kakashi-sensei!" he heard a voice, Sakura he assumed, call out to him.

"He's coming to." he heard someone in a language he did not understand say. "Miss Martian, link him up."

Kakashi felt a strange tingling, and finally his vision through his normal eye focused. His team was surrounding him. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried as they helped him stand. "Are you alright?"

"No." Kakashi replied gruffly. "But I'm alive, at least."

The dark-skinned stranger from before stepped forward to meet him. "Hatake Kakashi." he greeted him. "We have much to discuss."

Kakashi was given a recap of what Aqualad and the others told the rest of his team. "Well, your story is...hard to swallow, to say the least." he said. "But I owe you our lives. I will do what I can to help you."

"Thank you." Aqualad agreed.

"However, I still have a mission to complete."

"The one with the scroll, right?" Aqualad asked. "I've already sent Superboy to go retrieve it for you all."

Soon, Superboy came crashing into the field, carrying a massive scroll with him. "This it?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's the one." Kakashi confirmed.

Naruto walked up to the scroll, placing his hand on it like he had been reunited with a lost friend. _"Hey."_ he thought. _"I only made it this far because of you. Thank you."_

"Now that that's done, we better head back to the village." Kakashi said. "It will take time, especially since I'm in no shape to be going all out..."

"We can probably get you all there in no time." Superboy replied. "Sphere!" Sphere then transformed to cycle mode.

"W-what is that?" Kakashi asked.

"For you, a mode of transport." Aqualad said as he slung Kakashi's arm over his shoulder and helped him into the side car. He and Robin shared it with, while Superboy mounted the driver's seat and Wolf clung tightly (and awkwardly) to him. "Miss Martian, you take the other 3 with you. Artemis, Wally...you're on your own."

Miss Martian used her telekinesis to levitate herself and the genin with her. "Wow! This is so cool!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke remained as stoic as ever, but even he cracked a small smile upon admitting to himself that he agreed with Naruto. The supercycle took off, and Miss Martian and her charges followed after them.

Kid Flash sighed, and held out his arms to Artemis. The archer begrudgingly accepted his invitation, and placed herself in his arms. "Don't get any ideas, okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry about a thing." Kid Flash replied sarcastically. Without another word, they sped off in the direction of their comrades.

* * *

><p>Two guards in Konoha went about their business. Ever since the Sand-Sound War, things have been pretty dull. While that was for the best, when you're on guard duty, you naturally want SOMETHING to happen. Suddenly, one of them heard some strange whistling sound. "Hey do you here that?"<p>

"Yeah." his partner agreed as he brought up his bo staff. "I do."

The strangest contraption they had ever seen descended from the sky, landing right in front of them. "It's okay; they're with me." a voice they knew well said.

"Kakashi?" one of the guards asked. "Is that you?"

"You were expecting Might Guy, perhaps?" Kakashi said as Aqualad helped him out.

"Where's your team?"

As if on cue, the rest of Team 7 stepped out of the bushes trailed by a young woman, who was Miss Martian in her human form. _"Now remember, no telling anyone I'm actually green, okay?"_ she asked the genin telepathically.

Finally, Kid Flash and Artemis joined them, as Kid Flash skidded to a halt. "Home sweet home, hey?"

"Uh...KF?" Artemis asked. "You can put me down, now."

"Oh!" Kid Flash blinked. "Sorry!" he said as he set her down.

"I know this is all very confusing." Kakashi said to the guards. "But I must speak to the council about this. I owe them one."

The guards nodded in agreement, and opened the gates. "Well, my friends...I welcome you to Konohagakure!"

"The Hidden Village in the Leaves..." Robin roughly repeated in his own language as they strode in.

* * *

><p>"THIS is a village!?" Kid Flash practically yelled in astonishment as he looked around him.<p>

"Well, excuse me!" Naruto fumed, clearly taking offense to Kid Flash's statement. "I'm sorry it doesn't meet your expectations!"

"Didn't meet them?" Kid Flash asked. "This place blows my 'expectations' out of the water!" he exclaimed with glee as he held out his arms.

Indeed, by the standards of the team, this Konoha village was more like a small city. It was large, had several residential buildings and businesses, as well as parks. It could have easily been mistaken for a college town in their world. Though many buildings seemed to bare the scars of an earlier conflict, it seemed the people were thriving. "Astonishment aside, you all do have a lovely home." Aqualad said in a more polite tone.

"Thank you." Sakura answered.

Robin turned to the side and stopped. "Whoa. Check it out, guys. It's like Mt. Rushmore!"

Indeed, the mountainside bore large sculptures of four men. "Who are they?" Superboy asked.

"They're all the past Hokages." Naruto said. "I don't know the first, second and fourth all that well, but the third was a great guy!" Naruto smiled, hiding the sadness he felt at the fact the old man was gone.

"Fourth?" Superboy asked. "I thought you said the third just died."

"The Fourth Hokage died protecting the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox." Kakashi explained.

"Nine-tailed fox?" Kid Flash asked incredulously. "Is that really that big of a deal? Did it have rabies or something?"

"At it's peak, the Nine-Tailed Fox was as tall as the mountains and could cause tsunamis and earthquakes." Kakashi explained.

"Oh." Kid Flash said, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry."

"After the incident, the Third came out of retirement. He protected the village for years, until he died facing one of the village's greatest enemies." Kakashi continued.

Robin continued to inspect the mountain. "Come to think of it...Naruto, you kind of look like the fourth."

"Really?" Naruto began to grin widely. "Then I know I'm going to make it!"

("So, the rumors are true. You have brought strangers into our domain.")

Kakashi turned to see Konoha's elder council, Homura and Koharu. Both were former teammates to the Sandaime, and like most of his generation, were greatly valued for their wisdom and experience.

"It's quite a long story. But before you ask, yes, we did get the scroll back."

Naruto happily presented it to Homura, who only snatched it away from his hands as if he was a diseased child. The unusually harsh action did not go unnoticed by Sakura.

"Listen, why don't you bring us along for your little meeting?" Robin asked Kakashi before turning to Aqualad. "I'll be your interpreter."

"Agreed." Aqualad said. "Hatake, would it be alright if we explained ourselves to your council?"

"Sure. At least I won't be the one who will look like a raving lunatic that way." Kakashi then turned to his genin. "Why don't you three show the others around? We'll be back to join you soon."

("You can understand them, Kakashi?") Koharu asked in puzzlement.

Kakashi sighed. "It's...complicated. I think I'll be in the same boat as you two in a few minutes."

* * *

><p>In another part of fire country, a blood-curdling wail broke the silence. You won't find the source in any structure. One would have to take a passage deep underground. There, a most unusual man sat up in his bed. His black hair was shoulder length, and he sported a yellow crescent earring. But it was his white skin that truly made him stand out. His eyes resembled a snake, ready to strike its prey. His own face semmed to have been modeled after a reptile, with his large square jaws and small nose. His arms hung limply in his lap, sporting a dark purplish tint as if they were suffering from gangrene. This was Orochimaru, one of the Three Sanin of Konoha and most dangerous rogue ninja of his generation. Or was; the Sandaime severed a part of his soul before dying, not only taking away his ninjutsu but also turning his limbs into useless appendages. And it was spreading, much like it's medical counterpart, causing severe pain to the man in question. "KABUTOO!" he shouted.<p>

A young man, no older than 20, came in. He wore thick glasses and bore silver hair tied in a pony tail, and wore a hiate with a musical note, the symbol for the sound village. He also bore a purple shirt over his standard ninja attire. He was Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's current right hand man and medic. "Hold on, Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto got a glass of water and some pain killers. "Here. Drink."

Orochimaru ingested the medication and gulped down the glass. Though the pain dulled, it did nothing to dull the rage he felt at having his arms taken away. "Sasuke-kun...I must have the boy..." Orochimaru hissed.

"You can't. Not yet." Kabuto said. "Uchiha has yet to reach his full potential. Take him now and you'll be trapped in a weaker body than you planned. That's assuming we were in any shape to invade Konoha anyway. What's more, the curse is spreading. We have other candidates..."

"Useless!" Orochimaru yelled as he hobbled out of his bed, kicking over a nightstand. "If I transfer now, I'll have to wait years to do it again!"

"We have no choice!" Kabuto pleaded with his master.

Orochimaru growled, then began to chuckle. "There is another...SHE could help me."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses skeptically; he knew WHOM his master was talking about. "And just what makes you think she will help you?"

"Oh, I'll make it worth her while." Orochimaru cackled.

* * *

><p>In the officially vacant Hokage mansion, Homura and Koharu listened to Aqualad's story through Robin. And like most sane people, they didn't believe their story. And that was putting it nicely. ("Preposterous!") Homura yelled angrily. ("This is like something out of a child's manga!")<p>

Aqualad looked back to Robin. "Are you sure you didn't mistranslate anything I said?"

"Me? The sidekick of the World's Greatest Detective?" Robin asked in mock offense.

"Of course. How foolish of me." Aqualad rolled his eyes before addressing the council once again. "Believe what you will. But the fact remains we need help getting home. All I ask for is information of strange phenomena. The sooner we hear of such news, the sooner we can leave."

Robin translated again, but it judging by their stern looks, it seemed they wanted nothing more to do with them. ("Denied!") Homura exclaimed. ("Get this trash out of here!")

Kakashi sighed as he rose from his seat, using a stick as a cane to help him. ("I'm sorry. The elders are not the...most open-minded of people.") He walked over to Aqualad and Robin, placing a hand on the later's shoulder. ("But I promise I'll do what I can to help you.")

("Be careful, Kakashi.") Homura warned him. ("What you're proposing is borderline treason, helping these outsiders.")

("Perhaps.") Kakashi said. ("But can you do anything about it?") That stopped the two in cold fear. Though Kakashi was greatly weakened, he was still one of the village's strongest ninja. Most of the other ninjas couldn't even touch him, and those that could were more likely to side with him. They realized that right now, they needed a Hokage more than ever. ("Get out!") Koharu yelled in frustration. The three, realizing any further discussion was pointless, took their leave.

* * *

><p>It was not uncommon for a jonin instructor to reward his genin team with an outstanding meal whenever he felt they did a good job. Today, Asuma was doing just that. In addition to Shikamaru and Ino, the plump, auburn-haired Chouji Akamichi was with them as well, completing the team. "Okay, you all did a fantastic job out there. Looks like the Korean restaurant is open for business again; my treat!"<p>

"Yes!" Chouji exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Not too much this time, okay Chouji?" Asuma held him back. Like the rest of his clan (and befitting his body, not that he would tell him) Chouji had an enormous appetite that rivaled a sumo wrestler. "I don't mean to sound like an ungrateful son, but I haven't got my inheritance yet. Let's try and take it easy for today, okay?" he chuckled.

Soon, Team 10 was seated at their favorite restaurant. Just as they were about to place their orders, Ino saw a familiar red and pink figure approaching them. "Sakura!"

Ino jumped up to say hello, and Sakura returned the gesture. "Ino." she acknowledged.

Before more could be said, Ino made a beeline for Sasuke and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, kicking up one leg behind her and getting her face as close as possible. "Sasuke-kun! How've you been?"

Superboy from behind noticed Sasuke give her look that seemed to read "Get off of me before I hurt you." It reminded Superboy of the time Artemis flirted with him over the psychic link on their first mission together when she joined the team. _"I know."_ he thought sympathetically. _"It's a pain."_

Before Ino could flirt with him some more, she noticed Superboy behind him, and all could have sworn that steam was blowing out of her ears. "HOT DAMN!" Ino shoved Sasuke to the ground as she got up close to the boy of steel, leaving Sasuke mumbling something incomprehensible on the floor while a vein bulged on his head. "Hello. I am Yamanaka Ino." she bowed, behaving as lady-like as possible. "I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about our humble village."

Superboy turned away, growling. _"Aw, not this crap again!"_ he cursed mentally.

"_Just tell her you're not even a year old."_ Miss Martian suggested humorously. _"It seemed to work on Sakura."_

"Ino." Sakura said to Ino, snapping her attention away from Superboy. "As much as I'd like to introduce you to our new friends, we've got a problem that we need your help with."

"Oh?"

"More precisely, we need Asuma-sensei's help." Sakura clarified.

"Guys..." The team stepped away to reveal Kid Flash on his knees, clutching his stomach. "...can we eat already?"

* * *

><p>"Well, that didn't go well." Robin sighed as he, Aqualad and Kakashi walked the streets.<p>

"I don't need a detective to tell me that." Aqualad sighed.

"So, what now?" Robin asked.

"I guess we'll just have wander around for information." Aqualad answered.

Kakashi then stepped up, getting the gist of what Aqualad was saying. ( "I imagine that you're going to wander about on your own now. But you'll most likely wind up more lost than ever. I know someone who has a bunch of private intel. He can probably help you. I'll contact him; he may be able to come back as soon as tomorrow!")

("Great!") Robin smiled, then passed on the info to Aqualad.

"Much appreciated." Aqualad bowed.

Suddenly, they saw a crowd gathering around one of the businesses. ("What's going on here?") Kakashi wondered. The three made their way through the crowd to see what all the commotion was about. When they did, each had three different reactions. Aqualad turned away and sighed. Robin face-palmed himself. Kakashi's visible eye only widened in horror at what they saw.

Kid Flash and Chouji were having something of a food fight/eating contest. Both were putting down large portions of food, but it seemed while Kid Flash was genuinely eating his fill, Chouji seemed to be reaching his limit. While Shikamaru and Ino looked on in horror at seeing their friend being outeaten by a slimmer person, Asuma slowly turned to see Kakashi, giving him a dirty look. ("One of yours, I assume?")

("S-Sorry! I'll chip in!") Kakashi tried to assure him.

Both were down to the last rib, and a chopstick duel ensued. Chouji smacked Kid Flashes fingers away, elicting an "OW!" from the speedster, but he was back on it. "Oh, so that's the way you wanna play, eh?" Kid Flash then began to move his hand and vibrate it so fast, the bowl exploded. Chouji, caught off guard by the display, shielded himself while Kid Flash snatched the last rib with his sticks. "Ah Hah!" he exclaimed.

Chouji only clenched his fist...and suddenly grew into a round ball while Kid Flash gobbled the meat down, oblivious to the danger. "KF, get out of the way!" Artemis shouted.

Kid Flash looked behind him to see Chouji, who suddenly began spinning like a bowling ball. "Uh oh."

The spectators outside ran away as a cloud of dust suddenly exploded from the restaurant.

* * *

><p>"Nice going, KF!" Artemis punched him hard on the shoulder.<p>

"OW!"

"You just had to go and trash a restaurant. Now we've been landed with a major repair bill, and we don't even have the correct currency to pay for it!" She punched him in the same spot again, electing another yelp of pain from him.

"Hey, I didn't start that fight!" Kid Flash protested as he rubbed his shoulder. "Besides, that guy could have stood to lose a few pounds!"

"Tell you what." Kakashi said dryly. "Asuma and I will take care of the bill. However, in exchange, Kid Flash will have to subsist on nothing but food pills until you all get home."

"WHAT!?"

"Agreed." Aqualad said, before turning to his friend, looking at him sympathetically. "Sorry, Kid Flash. Please bare with it."

"Now that that's out of the way...there's something else we may need to take care of." Robin said.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked.

"It seems we're going to be here a while. I've been thinking maybe we should all get some civilian clothing. Especially Superboy." Indeed, the Kryptonian's shirt and pants were burned and torn in several areas. Looking down at them, he reluctantly agreed.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "If I had outfits like those, I'd wear them all the time!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you would." Robin sighed, glad his mask hid his eyes rolling. "But these are not exactly designed for comfort, and we're attracting more attention then I'd like. Would you guys mind chipping in? I promise none of our girls have a fashion obsession."

* * *

><p>Granting their request, Sakura took the team to their favorite department store. Except for Miss Martian, who could change her appearance at will, the team went to work looking for new clothes. "Interesting." Robin commented as he looked through his options.<p>

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Even though this world is like Feudal Japan...uh, that's the country in our world that has a culture most similar to yours...the technology here is close to modern standards, give or take a decade or two. Also, most of your clothes are of a western-influence."

"What's so great about the west?" Naruto asked.

"It's just what we call ourselves; it's kind of become dominant throughout our world...though perhaps not always through the best methods." Robin replied as he finally found some clothes he liked. "Okay, now no peeking, okay?"

Sakura turned red with embarrassment. "H-how dare you! I'm not that kind of person!"

Robin's smirk only grew as he stared at her. "I can tell you're lying."

"Am not!"

"I'm a detective; it's my job to know when people are lying." Robin replied smugly before finding his own changing room.

Soon, everyone came out with new clothes. Artemis removed her face mask and sported a black blouse, white khakis and black women's shoes. She also had a denim jacket to go with it. Aqualad picked out jeans, sandals and a gray hoodie. Superboy, by some stroke of luck, found almost identical clothes to his usual, though now his shirt sported the konoha symbol instead of his S symbol. Kid Flash came out revealing his own freckled face, with a yellow long-sleeved shirt with a red vest over it, sporting light blue jeans and sneakers. Robin came out sporting a denim jacket with a white shirt, dark jeans and sneakers, his utility belt draped around his person.

However, there was one thing that threw off Team 7 about his choice of dress. "Shades?" Naruto asked. "But it's cloudy out."

"It's either this or the mask stays." Robin replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, come on!" Sakura yelled. "We don't even know you're real name!"

"The less you know, the better." Robin chuckled.

"Okay." Kakashi said as he handed the clerk a money order. "I'll get in contact with my associate, and I'll let you all know when he comes. Until then...Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke...I expect you to treat our guests with hospitality. Oh, and by the way..."

He suddenly tossed a vial to Kid Flash. Inspecting it, Kid Flash sighed, realizing this was going to be his rations for a while. "Alright, I get it..." he moaned in misery.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Naruto shouted. "Why can't you take care of them!?" he pointed accusingly at this sensei

"I've only a one-room apartment; not appropriate for guests." Kakashi replied dryly as he slowly walked away. "Take good care now." he said, waving behind him. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Kakashi, clearly not wishing to discuss the matter further, hobbled out. Sasuke decided to be the first to volunteer. "If you'd like, I can host you for tonight. I've enough room in my yard for your pets." he said to Superboy.

"Sure." Superboy agreed. "Kaldur, you wanna come?"

"I've no objections." Aqualad agreed.

"I think it's best we stay with you, Sakura." Artemis said, referring to her and Miss Martian. Sakura only nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess it's you, me and KF." Robin said to Naruto.

Naruto sighed, tucking his arms behind his back. "Well, I don't have a lot of room. But, we'll make do somehow."

* * *

><p>("Here we are: my clan's residence.") Sasuke opened a gate that carried the Uchiha fan as seen on his blue shirt.<p>

As he guided them down, Superboy looked around. It was like a ghost town. ("I thought you said your clan lived here.")

("I did.")

("What happened to them?") Superboy asked.

Sasuke only stopped, not bothering to look back at him. ("Gone. All gone...") He continued on.

Soon, they came across a large, traditional Japanese house, with sliding doors and everything. Sasuke removed his shoes as he helped himself inside. ("My room is the one on the far right. Feel free to pick out whichever ones you want. The pets stay outside.")

As Superboy petted Wolf's head, he explained to Aqualad Sasuke's situation. "It doesn't make sense."

"What?"

"We know that whoever sent us to this world has the sharingan. Sasuke said it belongs to his clan. Yet it seems he's the last of his clan."

"Yeah. You're right." Superboy agreed.

"Is there someone else not even Sasuke is aware of that possess it? Or..." Aqualad decided not to finish that thought. _"...has he been lying to us?"_

"It seems he doesn't like to talk about it. But something happened here." Superboy said. "I'd just like to know what."

"I'm afraid this sort of thing is more Robin's specialty." Aqualad sighed. He then turned towards the door. "I haven't had a good salt water bath for a while. Conner, please see if Sasuke will let you borrow all his salt."

"Sure thing, Kaldur." Superboy agreed.

* * *

><p>The doorknob to Naruto's apartment jiggled inside. Soon, it opened, Naruto leading his guests inside. ("Here we are: Home Sweet Home. I know it's not much, but it'll have to do.")<p>

Wally took a look around. "It's small, needs a bit of fine-patching...but, it's kind of nice." he smiled. "Your parents rent this place out to you or something?"

After Robin translated for him, Naruto frowned. ("Never knew my parents. The Sandaime gave this place to me.")

Robin translated his reply back. "Oh." Wally said. "Sorry." Suddenly, Robin punted him with his elbow. "Ow! What!?"

"That's what I would have done if this conversation was in english." Robin teased him before turning back to Naruto. ("Wally says he's sorry.")

("Aw, that's okay. It's not so bad; not anymore. I've got Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and...") His words seemed to choke on themselves before he could continue.

"Hn." Robin grinned. _"He even considers his rival a close friend." (_"I guess we should have something to eat. Wally may have had his fill, but I haven't.")

("Sure. I'll go cook us some ramen.") Naruto agreed as he went straight for the pantry.

("Uh, you got anything else?") Robin asked.

("Not really.")

Robin sighed. ("Fine. Ramen it is.")

While Naruto was playing chef (to put it loosely) Robin and Kid Flash got caught up in a discussion, knowing Naruto would not understand English. "Wally, don't you find it a bit odd? That Naruto lives here without any guardians?"

"Yeah." Wally agreed. "And did you see the look those 2 geezers gave him? They HATE him!"

"I noticed that too. But then why keep him in the village at all?" Robin pondered. "I think...there's a history behind all this."

"You think we should ask around?"

"No." Robin sighed, waving it off. "We're not going to be here long enough to make a difference. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie on this one."

* * *

><p>"Dinner's ready!" Mebuki Haruno exclaimed as she carried some chicken teriyaki to the table. Unlike her daughter, Mebuki sported dirty blonde hair cut short, and was showing her age.<p>

"Thanks, Mom!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Smells good." Artemis commented as she and M'gann caught a good whiff of the food. "Thank you."

"But of course!" Mebuki exclaimed. "Anyone who brings our baby girl back safe and sound deserves to be treated like a hero!"

"Mom!" Sakura moaned. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Only because it's fun." Mebuki continued to tease her. "It's just the way parents would treat their only child."

"Heh." Kiashi Haruno, Sakura's dad chuckled. He was certainly an odd looking man, sporting purplish hair tied into several skyward braids, giving his best impression of a starfish. "I know of ways we can amend that." he teased his wife, touching her foot with his. Mebuki only responded with an irritated huff and poked him with her chopsticks. "OW!"

"Not in front of the children, dear." Mebuki said sternly. Artemis and M'gann chuckled while Sakura only turned redder. Feeling she had sufficiently disciplined her husband, she turned her attention to their two guests as they began their meal. "So, Artemis-san, and...M'gann-san, was it? Where are you two from, exactly?"

It was certainly a difficult question for the two to answer. Especially when they did not wish for them to believe their daughter brought home a couple of crazies. "Far...far, away..." Artemis answered.

"Mom." Sakura interrupted. "They don't have to say if they don't want to."

"You're right, dear. My apologies." Mebuki said. "It's just, I can only imagined how terrified your families must be for you."

"Something along those lines, I guess." Artemis responded.

"Our uncles are probably looking for us." M'gann said, secretly putting Sakura's parents in her psychic link. "They have experience with missing people."

"Well, mine does." Artemis agreed. "My mother's probably worried sick."

"Yeah. Though, I haven't seen my parents in siblings in what seems like forever..."

"_Come to think of it, you've never talked much about your family."_ Artemis said over the psychic link.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mebuki said. Deciding to try and direct the conversation to a more pleasant subject, she asked "Out of curiosity, just how many siblings do you have?"

"About 48." M'gann replied nonchalantly as she took another bite.

She suddenly heard both Sakura and Artemis choking on their food upon hearing her answer. _"M'gann, you're pretending to be human!"_ Artemis reminded her as she tried to force her food down.

M'gann turned to see both Mebuki and Kiashi gave her a blank stare. "Uh...most of them were adopted?" she feebly tried to explain.

* * *

><p>Konoha finally went to sleep, as almost all lights went out in the village. But one was awake. Atop the Hokage mountain, a lone, cloaked figure overlooked the village. "Hmm. I was hoping to throw off those pests. But if they came here...I may have only made things more complicated for us." He took a seat atop the fourth's head. "So, now what? Itachi and Kisame are due to arrive here soon. Should I tell them about our new adversaries?" He thought about it, and had he not worn his mask, a smile would have been visible. "Perhaps not. It just might make things interesting." A sharingan eye suddenly flared in his one eye socket.<p>

* * *

><p>Artemis fluttered her eyes open as the first light of morning shone through Sakura's bedroom window. M'gann was still asleep on her futon, but Artemis feared he'd have to disturb her soon. Turning to Sakura's bed, she noticed that she wasn't there. <em>"Is she already downstairs with breakfast?"<em>

Artemis then noticed her bathroom door was slightly jarred open. Cautiously taking a peek, she saw Sakura inside. She was facing the mirror atop her bathroom stool, shirtless and tying a measuring tape around her chest. Judging by her sigh, Artemis ventured to guess she was disappointed with the results. _"Been there, got over it._" Artemis thought. It could be tough being a teenage girl, especially when the media kept telling you that you needed large breasts to be considered a true woman.

Deciding to get Sakura thinking about something other than her body, Artemis tapped on the door. Sakura instinctively covered up her chest upon hearing the rapping on her door, but relaxed upon seeing it was Artemis. "Oh! Good Morning ! Did I wake you?"

"No." Artemis said. "I'm an early riser." she lied. "I'll probably wake up Miss M here soon. You got anything to eat for breakfast?"

"Sure." Sakura said as she turned to put her shirt on. "I'll help you get something ready."

* * *

><p>Superboy combed his hair in the bathroom mirror, ready for another day in this strange world. <em>"I better get something together for Wolf before he decides to rob the local butcher shop."<em> Stepping out of the bathroom, he called down the hallway. "Kaldur! You awake!?" It seemed no one was home. Then, he heard something outside. It sounded like...fire. Or a flamethrower, to be more precise.

Superboy stepped outside, tracing the sound to its source. Soon, he found Aqualad, his pets and Sasuke by a small lake, Sasuke standing on the dock's edge. He weaved more signs, and breathed another fireball. "Hey." he said to Aqualad. "Been here a while?"

"A few minutes." Aqualad said. "He's shot quite a few of them though. It's like he's...obsessed."

Superboy cautiously approached the young ninja. ("Hey.") he said. ("Come here often?")

Sasuke seemingly relaxed, but Superboy could see he was still quite tense. ("My father used to bring me out here. He taught me the Goukakyu no Jutsu right here. Soon, I was able to show him I mastered it. It...") Sasuke almost smiled, it was perhaps his most cherished memory. ("It was the first time he acknowledged me as his son, and not a shadow of my brother.")

Superboy did not like the sound of this story. ("What happened here, Sasuke? What is it you're not telling us?")

Sasuke said nothing as he turned around and walked back to the shore. ("Come on. You're probably hungry. And we need to feed your dog before he gets himself in trouble.")

("Uh...sure.") Superboy said. _"Way to dodge a question."_

* * *

><p>Naruto was not an early riser. Even before most missions, he rarely got up before 9. However, that was not the case today, as Robin and Kid Flash stood above him. "Frog pajamas? Really?" Kid Flash asked. "This kid so does not act his age."<p>

"Well, will you do the honors?" Robin asked.

Kid Flash sighed as he poked at Naruto. "Hey. Wakey wakey."

Naruto unconsciously batted his hand away. ("C'mon...") he groaned in his sleep. ("Jus' five more minutes...")

"Allow me." Robin volunteered. He grabbed the corners of Naruto's cover...and suddenly yanked it, dragging Naruto down to the floor.

"Ow!" he shouted. ("What was that for!?") he demanded angrily.

("We're hungry. And we need to get going with getting out of here.") Robin said.

("Okay, okay.") Naruto groaned, rubbing his sore body. ("Just give me a minute and I'll take you someplace for breakfast...")

* * *

><p>One of the two guards stationed at the west end of Konoha yawned. While it was ideal for nothing to happen, when you're a guard a small part of you would wish for a little action despite the risk to the village.<p>

"Hey, Ken. Check it out." his partner pointed ahead of him.

Two figures began to approach them. Both wore black cloaks with red clouds, and concealed their faces with sugegasa (straw hats). One seemed to be of average height, while his partner towered over him and carried what seemed to be a wrapped halberd on his back. "Halt!" the guards shouted, raising their staves. The strangers continued on their way forward, the shorter of the two raising his head just enough for them to see his swirling red eye. The two guards' eyes momentarily widened, then closed as they fell over asleep.

"You were right." the taller of the two intruders said as they made their way forward. "That was easy."

"Careful, Kisame." the other said. "They were just standard ninja. The elite are within. Had we done this your way, you would have attracted them all. I'd prefer it if we accomplished our mission as quietly as possible."

"Sounds boring." Kisame sighed. "But...you're probably right. Very well then. It is...well, was your home. Lead the way Itachi." The two headed inside, unmolested.

* * *

><p>A small, white dog barked a frenzy at someone, like many of his kind did when confronted with frightening strangers. However, upon hearing a growl back, the dog immediately turned tail and ran.<p>

A young teen Naruto's age with red markings on his face and a hoodie that resembled a fur coat gathered him up. ("Akamaru, what's going-HOLY-!") He stared right into the face of the biggest wolf he had ever seen.

He prepared to defend his dog to the death, but thankfully, that wasn't necessary. "Wolf! No!" his apparent owner said as he passed him by. The wolf relented, and followed after his owner without question.

Kiba only looked on in astonishment as he saw the strangers gather together. _"Who are those guys?"_ Kiba wondered.

* * *

><p>Team 7 had decided to gather The Team at one of the picnic tables in the park for brunch today. Naruto of course had suggested that they treat them to Ichiraku's, but upon Robin's protest and a whack from Sakura, he agreed to buying them various bentos.<p>

"Here you are." Sakura said as she passed one to Aqualad.

"Thank you."

As they all began to eat, The Team had a private conversation through the link. _"So, anything unusual about our...hosts?"_ Aqualad began hesitantly, wondering if the others had as sad a past as Sasuke.

"_Well, nothing on our end."_ M'gann replied. _"As far as we can tell, Sakura's just a normal girl." _

"_I'm glad."_ Artemis added. _"I was worried we would stumble upon some kind of 'League of Shadows' society." _

"_All is not well with them though."_ Superboy said. _"Sasuke is an orphan." _

"_That's strange..."_ Robin added. _"...so is Naruto."_

It didn't go unnoticed by Naruto how The Team was strangely silent and barely touching their food. _"Just what is going on here?"_

* * *

><p>Asuma had decided to take the time to visit Kurenai today, one of the newest jonin kunoichi. She was incredibly beautiful; wavy black hair, great figure, and stunning red eyes that others would have mistook for the sharingan. She seemed rather nervous whenever he got close; in his opinion that just made her cuter.<p>

He figured he had a good cover to see her though: he would just say that he happened to have the idea to treat his team to lunch at the same place Kurenai was taking hers, which included Kiba from earlier.

He was about to flirt with her as his "plan" began, but something felt off. Kurenai noticed it too. Two strangers in cloaks were seated across from them, apparently drinking some tea. Normally, if they were intruders, they would have been notified even if they had over powered the guards, yet there was not a word of it this morning. So, they should have had the village's permission to enter. But this feeling-! Asuma and Kurenai decided to play it cool while their genin chatted, oblivious to the danger only jonin could sense.

"And I'm telling you, this skinny kid outate Chouji!" Ino described to Team 8.

"Next time I won't lose!" the portly teen shouted in response, raising his arms.

"Chouji..." Shikamaru groaned. "...normally I wouldn't bother you telling this, but winning one of those things isn't exactly a goal to aspire too."

"The tall one also had this wickedly huge wolf!" Kiba exclaimed. "If I weren't stuck with Akamaru, I would have asked him where I could get one!" His dog inside his jacket growled and mewled in response. "Ah, Akamaru! I didn't mean it like that!" he tried to explain.

"Yeah..." Ino said as her cheeks flushed and her smile became more day dreamy. "...the tall one sure is something." She suddenly imagined Superboy clad only in boots and a fury loin-cloth, sword in one hand and herself in bikini armor in his other, while his wolf stood among them clad in armor and a saddle.

"Do I want to even know what's going on in that head of yours?" Shikamaru asked with disgust.

Kurenai couldn't help but overhear the heated conversation the genin were having. "So..." she asked Asuma. "...Kakashi has brought some unusual kids to our humble village, I heard?"

"It seems that way." Asuma agreed. "They are rather...unusual."

"Do tell." Kurenai responded. "We seem to be getting a lot of such characters."

The strangers across from them were listening intently...and knew it was time to leave. "Let's go, Kisame." Itachi said as he placed his tea cup down. "It's time we got going."

* * *

><p>Kakashi propped himself up against his bed, once more reading his favorite adult novel. He already contacted Jiraiya as he said he would...all they could do now was wait for him to come by. <em>"If nothing else, maybe he'll be elected to Hokage. If not him, then..." <em>Kakashi sighed in disappointment. _"Not likely. No one's seen her in years." _

He was broken out of his thoughts by a strange noise. It wasn't loud...it occurred some distance away. But with his finely tuned senses, he knew it was an explosion. Which could only mean trouble. "Shit!" Kakashi was no where close to full recovery, but quickly leaped out of bed and donned his ninja vest. He felt like he would collapse at any minute, but in a situation like this, he had to step in, no matter how lousy he may have been feeling. As he tied his hiate to his head, he opened up the window and leaped out, any injury or fatigue unapparent as he sped across the rooftops.

* * *

><p>Eventually realizing that some of the mysteries in the village...mainly the past of Naruto and Sasuke...were not theirs to solve, The Team decided to actually interact with Team 7. Most of it was trivial questions. Kid Flash, however, requested to be taught some of their ninjutsu. Naruto was eager to play instructor again, but Sakura decided that maybe she should give it a try, knowing how Naruto mispronounced chakra for the longest time and felt he wasn't a good influence on Konohamaru.<p>

She decided to begin by teaching Kid Flash to feel his own chakra within his body. Both were seated in the lotus position, as if meditating. "Relax, focus on your breathing." Sakura instructed. "Let go of all distractions, and look inside yourself." She waited for a moment. "Do you feel anything?"

Kid Flash took another deep breath...and slumped forward. "Nope. Nada. When are you going to teach me fireballs or kamehamehas or whatever?" he asked impatiently.

Sakura only smacked her forehead in frustration. "You're the same as Naruto!" she exclaimed.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Wally yelled.

"Yeah, what!?" Naruto also shouted.

"What do you think, baka!?" Sakura shouted back.

Robin could only hold in his laughter in vain as he finally doubled over and laughed out loud. "Yeah, I don't think he's going to get this anytime soon." Artemis sighed in annoyance.

"Or ever." Robin added. "Not that I think any of us can do a better job."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"It's a theory I have..." Robin was about to explain. He stopped when he noticed Superboy looking away into the woods. "What? Did your super senses detect something?" Robin asked anxiously.

Superboy cringed at that. "I guess you could say that...though they probably aren't necessary for this." he said, pointing to what he saw.

It looked like someone was trying to sneak up on them. Robin used the word "trying" because whoever was doing this failed miserably. It seemed their only method of sneaking was to use a poorly painted sheet to match the foliage. That part was wrong on so many levels. The sheet also bent forward, exposing it's white backside. Finally, the kids' shoes were exposed right below. Superboy simply ripped it out of their hands, revealing the trio. "Aw man! I thought we had them!"

The spies turned out to be three kids. One of which had moppy light brown hair and glasses. The other was a girl with red hair tied in pigtails, baby cheeks and a dress. The one that stood out to the others for some reason was the boy with spiky hair that stood up, and a long blue scarf on his neck that looked like a tripping hazard. "Friends of yours I assume?" Superboy asked Naruto.

"Hey! Konohamaru!" Naruto exclaimed, waving to the kid. "What's up?"

"Nothn'. Just checking to see how my arch rival for the title of Hokage was doing." Konohamaru tried playing it cool. "And following rumors."

"Rumors. What kind of rumors?" Naruto asked.

"Eh..." Konohamaru seemed to have trouble forming the words as he twiddled his fingers. "None of them too flattering." he finally said. "Something about you turning traitor and letting the enemy into our domain. Uh...not that I'd believe any of those sorts of things." he said defensively.

Naruto sighed. "It's cool, Konohamaru. I knew you wouldn't. And they're not true anyway."

"Ah-hem." Robin interrupted. "Aren't you going to tell us who these kids are?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Naruto apologized, rubbing his head. "This is Udon, Moegi, and Konohamaru!" Konohamaru also "ah-hemmed" Naruto. "What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" the kid asked.

"Not really."

"Yes, you are!" Konohamaru pointed at him accusingly. "You forgot to mention I am the grandson of the Sandaime and soon to be Hokage!"

"After me of course." Naruto nodded.

"NO! BEFORE!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE RUNT!?" Naruto yelled, getting in his face.

The rest became incomprehensible name-calling as the two bickered like siblings. "Oi." was Robin's only response. "I'll go and sit over there while you two sing 'Oh I Just Can't Wait to be Hokage'." he said as he walked away. As Wally had given up on his lesson with Sakura, he said to her "Well, he seems to be taking his grandfather's death pretty well."

"So, you noticed?" Sakura asked.

"As I said, it's my job to notice those kinds of things. Losing a family member...especially to murder...that's something no one should have to go through." Robin sighed.

Sakura also noticed, judging by the way his lips twitched, that Robin seemed to have suffered a similar loss. Deciding not to pry (she had a feeling he would avoid her questions anyway), she smiled at the sight of Naruto and Konohamaru bickering. "Well, to Naruto's credit, he acts like a big brother to Konohamaru. I think he takes comfort in the fact he still has someone to look up to and someone who will always be there for him."

"Hn." Robin agreed. Suddenly, Superboy's attention took a sharp turn outside of the park. "SB! What is it?" Robin asked.

"Another battle!" Superboy took off into the air before landing a football field away.

"I guess I better get going too." Wally said as he sped off in Superboy's direction.

"WHOA!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "How did they do that!?"

"Eh...you wouldn't get it. Not sure I understand either to be honest." Naruto said, jealous of their abilities. "But...I better follow them. Konohamaru, go home now."

"I wanna fight with you!" the boy protested.

"No, Konohamaru!"

"But-!"

"No buts!" Naruto yelled in an uncharacteristic manner. "You're not ready!" Naruto calmed down for a bit. "Graduate from the academy first, then show me what you got." he said, patting his shoulder. "I'll be waiting then."

"Naruto!" Sasuke called as he tried to catch up with Superboy and Kid Flash. "Get going!"

Naruto nodded at his rival, putting aside trivial banter. "See ya around, Konohamaru." He turned around and bolted, leaving the children in awe.

As he caught up to Sasuke, the Uchiha quipped "I'm surprised."

"What?"

"I half-expected you to drag him along with us. I guess you do have a brain when it counts."

Naruto, not sensing any real hostility from him, sighed. "I'm not THAT stupid ya know?"

"Well, surprise is your middle name." Sasuke agreed. His smirk disappeared as he got closer to the battlefield. _"Wait a minute...fire...this chakra..."_ Sasuke's own sharingan flickered. _"It couldn't be...him?"_

* * *

><p>Superboy was the first to arrive on the scene, Kid Flash not far behind. "This is our battle?" Kid Flash asked.<p>

"So it seems." Superboy confirmed. Two local ninjas lay unconscious. One of them they recognized as Asuma, the kunoichi they didn't know. The other two though..."Hey! They're wearing the same cloaks as the guy who sent us here!" Superboy shouted, pointing at them accusingly.

"You're sure?" Kid Flash asked.

"Black cloak with Red Clouds. Yeah, they're with that guy." Superboy growled.

The two turned slightly to face their new prey. ("Who are these people, Itachi?") One of them was a massive man...if you could call him that. His skin was a gray blue, his eyes yellow like a predator. He had dark gray hair that jutted straight up, teeth sharp as razors, and...gills!?

"What's with that one!?" Superboy yelled.

"I dunno. Either we're dealing with a Street Shark reject or Killer Croc in Gotham has inspired a bunch of copy-cats." Kid Flash said.

Then the other turned his head to look at them. He had dark hair and bangs under his eyes. Kid Flash had a feeling the girls would have called him cute if they saw him. "Hey..." Superboy noted. "...he looks...like Sasuke!"

"Now that you kind of mention it...he does..." Kid Flash agreed.

Just then, he flashed the Sharingan at them before deactivating it. "Those eyes! They're the same as Sasuke's!" Superboy shouted. "If Sasuke is the last of his clan...than this guy must be-!"

Though Itachi did not understand the language, he clearly heard his brother's name mentioned. ("Who are you?")

("Don't play games with us.") Superboy growled, this time in their own language. ("I know you sent us through the portal. My friend here saw your eyes.")

Itachi only narrowed his eyes in response, though he did regard them with suspicion. ("You're mistaken.") was his only response. _"Who are these people? Perhaps they've met with Madara?"_

Soon enough, the rest of the team and Team 7 joined them. "What's going on!?" Aqualad demanded the other two.

"I think we found the one who banished us here." Kid Flash answered.

However, in the back Sasuke heard none of this. His eyes only widened as his body trembled with rage as he got a good look at one of the intruders. "IT'S HIM!" he suddenly yelled, unaware he said it out loud.

Before anymore could be said, he felt a sudden pain in the back of his neck. Then darkness. _"What..."_ was his last thought before he succumbed into unconsciousness.

His body was held up by none other than Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried. "Why-?"

"No time to explain!" Kakashi said as he relinquished Sasuke to her. Miss Martian immediately linked him up to understand whatever commands he planned to give next. "Stay out of this. All of you. He's beyond your league."

"Kakashi, with all do respect-" Aqualad began

"I haven't forgotten it was you all who rescued me. But my defeat at Ishidate's hands was due to my carelessness. Had I anticipated his tricks, I could have won handily. But this man...this man is on a whole other level."

"It's good to meet you again...Hatake Kakashi." Itachi said.

"Enough with the pleasantries, Uchiha Itachi."

Everyone's eyes widened. "Uchiha!?" Robin exclaimed. "He's...he's related to Sasuke!?"

While the Team was mildly curious about his connection to Sasuke, something else clicked in both Naruto and Sakura's head. They thought back to when they first met as a team, Kakashi asking about their hopes and dreams. Naruto stated the same thing he had stated a million times since then, Sakura only giggled with embarrassment (obviously something involving her and Sasuke). But Sasuke...his wish was something darker. _ "My ambition..."_ Sasuke emphasized back then. _"...is to kill a certain someone...and restore my clan." _

Naruto was creeped out by that statement back then, but seeing Sasuke's "target" changed things. He didn't know what to think of this Itachi. The said person moved slightly, and looked directly at him for a split second. Naruto felt like an animal cornered by it's predator. He couldn't explain it, but just looking at him caused him to tremble with fear. _"Is...is this the person Sasuke was talking about?"_ Sakura got the same feeling.

Kakashi approached Superboy, being the most powerful of them. "Look after them."

"We can help you-!" Superboy protested.

("Itachi, are we going to fight already?") his partner growled, twirling his still wrapped halberd around. ("I know fighting like this is not your favorite thing in the world, but they are not giving us a choice.")

Itachi breathed deeply. ("As much as I hate to admit it...you may be right.") A kunai appeared from under his robe as he charged Kakashi. The copy-nin did the same, clashing with their weapons.

"Whoa!" Miss Martian exclaimed as the two displayed superb technique and agility.

"They're fast." Robin agreed; it seemed even worn out, Kakashi was Black Canary's and maybe even Batman's equal in combat and agility. _"At least."_

The two continued to duel, eventually flipping over into the river...and walking on it like it was solid ground. "Crouching Tiger, much?" Kid Flash quipped.

The two traded more blows, a punch to Kakashi's gut and kick to Itachi's knee sent both sprawling, but they righted themselves almost instantly. Itachi leaped into the air and impaled Kakashi with a kunai in the head. Before the team could scream in panic, Kakashi dissipated. "A kage bushin. Of course." The real Kakashi rushed him from the side as he impaled him in turn.

"Kakashi!" Superboy yelled, observing the battle with his super-senses. "That's not the real one! And it's heating up!"

Kakashi was already a step ahead of him, and flipped out of the way before it exploded in his face. ("You're good.") the real Itachi said as he stepped out of the shadows. He then eyed The Team. ("New shinobi? They don't look like it." )

"They're guests." was Kakashi's only reply. "But this fight is between you and me."

("I can't guarantee it will stay that way for long.") Itachi replied coldly.

Itachi closed his eyes...and then reopened them, revealing a sharingan. But this one was different. Instead of the three standard tomoe, the eye was shaped like a three-pointed shuriken. _ "Is this...the magekyo!?"_ Suddenly, Kakashi screamed in pain as he clutched his head and hunched over.

"Wait...what happened!?" Artemis yelled. "SB!?"

"I...I don't know! I didn't see anything!"

Though Kakashi refused to go under, his legs were so shaky that he was about to fall under the surface at anytime. ("Itachi!") Kisame leaped into the river, also making like Christ and walking on it with ease. ("That's bad for your eyes!")

("If it means ending the fight sooner, it's for the best.") However, Itachi's eyes did twitch slightly.

The team didn't know how to react; neither did Sakura or Naruto for that matter. It was their duty to help their allies...but how Itachi defeated Kakashi just by looking at him...that concerned them. "Oh man..." Kid Flash moaned. "How are we supposed to beat someone who can beat us just by looking at us!?"

"Miss Martian!" Aqualad commanded. "Bring him up! He can't keep his hold much longer!"

"On it!" Miss Martian's eyes glowed as she extended her arm and lifted him off the water and back onto solid ground.

"Hn." Kisame grunted. ("It seems we have quite a few interesting characters here.")

("So it would seem.") Itachi agreed.

Naruto and Sakura helped support their sensei. "Get them out of here!" He wheezed. "Don't...let them...take...Naruto..." Finally, he passed out.

"Whatever happened, I think it's some kind of severe mental strain." Miss Martian said as she felt Kakashi's temple.

"Can you fix him?" Aqualad asked.

"I...I might be able to. But it will take time."

"Time I don't think these goons are going to give to us." Robin said as he pointed to the two jumping up to meet them.

Sakura screamed in surprise while Naruto began to silently tremble. _"They're...they're after the Kyuubi!"_ Naruto bit his thumb and weaved hand-signs as he prepared to summon the biggest toad he could muster. He finished the jutsu...and suddenly felt himself being drained. "What the-!?"

He noticed Kisame pointing his halberd towards him, shark like fins protruding from the bandages. ("Wow kid.") The Shark Man chuckled. ("That's quite a large amount of chakra you've got there. My Samehada shall feast well.")

"_It...it's absorbing my chakra!"_ he realized.

"M'gann, get them out of here now!" Superboy yelled as he tackled Kisame, sending them both flying a hundred feet. Though Kisame managed to flip Superboy off of him, he was visibly shaken by the kid's strength. He was further distracted when Wolf tackled him from behind.

"On it! And be careful!" Miss Martian replied. Naruto and Sakura flet themselves lifted off the ground as their unconscious comrades joined them.

As she flew off, Itachi eyed her. He leaped up before she could get too high,but felt something wet wrap around his ankle and slam him back down to earth. He quickly cut the water whip with his kunai and shot a fireball towards Aqualad, who rolled to the side to avoid it. ("It seems you youngsters are going to put us through all the trouble I had planned on avoiding...")Itachi then rolled away as Sphere tried to run him over.

* * *

><p>Miss Martian flew them over to the top of the tallest building she could find. "Okay. I know this is not the safest place...but it will have to do." She eased the three down. "Listen, I'm sure you don't like listening to this...but stay put. Just look after Sasuke."<p>

The two reluctantly nodded, as Miss Martian turned to rejoin her regular comrades. "M'gann!" Naruto called. Miss Martian turned around, expecting an argument from Naruto. Instead of protest, he said softly "Be safe." M'gann smiled slightly, and nodded. Finally, she flew off.

"You actually listened to what she had to say." Sakura said in awe.

"This is different. Those two...they're unlike anything we've seen before." He briefly glanced to look at Sakura while she went to Sasuke's side, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Though the sight hurt him...the thought of how she would react if Sasuke was killed hurt him even more. _"And I don't want to lose you."_ he thought.

* * *

><p>"Ahhh!" Kisame jumped forward and lunged at Superboy with Sadehama, fully exposing it's shark-like skin.<p>

The blade landed on Superboy's shoulder, and though he shouted in pain, the sword did little more than cut his shirt. Superboy retaliated with a solid punch to his sternum, knocking Kisame past the railways and into the river. _"What is this freak!?"_ Kisame wondered as he got his bearings straight. _"I...I don't think I can take him on in direct physical contact!" _

The thoughts stung Kisame's pride, but there always came a time eventually when you meet someone who surpasses you in a certain area. Thankfully, Kisame had other tricks up his sleeve. Kisame leaped out of the water, and once more engaged Superboy, this time cautious of his punches and his pet. Within a few seconds, Kisame saw that though the boy's strength was astounding, his combat technique was amateurish at best. _"I can use this to my advantage."_ Sidestepping Superboy's roundhouse kick, he caught the kick and used the momentum to throw him into the river, creating a huge splash. Wolf managed to bite down on his arm, but Kisame worked through the pain and threw him into the river.

("I have you now!") Kisame dove in after him. As he predicted, Superboy was a capable enough swimmer, but he wasn't amphibious, while the wolf paddled to the surface. Quickly, he made his sings. "Suiton! Suikodan (Water Shark Missile) no Jutsu!" Kisame opened his mouth and launched hydro-sharks at Superboy. What would have cut a normal man to ribbons only stunned Superboy, but that was all that needed to be done. One hit him hard enough to force him to release his air, and the boy of steel made a beeline for the surface.

("Now! Suiton! Suiro (Water Prison) no Jutsu!") Superboy felt resistance suddenly, as he and Wolf were dragged back under. He tried punching his way out, but the pressure increased dramatically, and with his air supply going on critical, he couldn't push at full force. ("Ha! It seems even YOU need to breathe!")

Superboy and Wolf desperately tried to claw their way out, but his vision was growing weak as his chest felt like it was on fire...

* * *

><p>Aqualad turned his waterbearers into swords and engaged Itachi. The missing nin proved to be fast, blocking each of Aqualad's attacks with precision. However, not without it's cost; each strike sent a wave of pain down his arm. <em>"This one may be as strong as Kisame!" <em>

The last strike broke his kunai, leaving him wide open. "Rahh!"

Aqualad tried to slice him, but Itachi easily side-stepped the blow. _"He's skilled...but predictable..." _Itachi would soon eat those words unfortunately. As Itachi prepared another fireball, Aqualad recognized the movements from watching Sasuke earlier in the morning. Quickly, he pointed his water bearer at the ninja and fired a bullet of water. Itachi was completely taken by surprise, as the water hit him dead on, sending him hurtling back. ("You're just full of surprises, aren't you?") Itachi kiyupped back up and hurled shuriken at the Atlantean before once more dodging Sphere's roll.

Though they pierced his skin, they failed to do any real damage. "You'll have to do better than that!" Aqualad yelled, ignorant of the language barrier. Aqualad transformed his water bearer into a knife, but Itachi easily caught his wrist and flipped him over, sending him falling hard. Itachi stomped his foot on his neck, trying to get him to submit.

("Anymore surprises I should be aware of?") Itachi's eyes widened when he saw Aqualad reach for his ankle. Though he did not know the purpose, he had enough experience to know that this was going to be some kind of energy-based attack. Itachi withdrew his leg, but notice the man beneath him light up, and felt an incredible wave of painful electricity through his body. An instant too late, and Itachi suspected he would have been rendered unconscious He stumbled back with another kunai to defend himself; probably useless, but better than nothing.

His attention was turned to the sound of someone approaching him fast. Quickly, he jumped up into the air before Kid Flash could ram into him. With incredible instincts, he threw the kunai down into Kid Flash's cast, causing the speedster to stumble in pain. "AHH!" Kid Flash gripped his cast, the blood seeping out.

Before anything else could happen, he landed in front of him and knocked him out cold with a round house kick to the head. ("You shouldn't be fighting wounded, especially when this does not concern you.") Itachi's instincts caused him to catch an arrow in mid-air; Artemis stood ready with her crossbow. He then caught the oddest red shuriken he had ever seen, thrown by the boy in the sunglasses.

"NOW!" Robin yelled.

The arrow caught flame while the shuriken with no apparent mechanism he was familiar with exploded. "Auggh!"

Aqualad ran up and kicked him again, sending him sprawling across the ground. Even so, he managed to stand. ("How disgraceful.") he said, his voice only slightly irritated. ("I won't allow you to knock me down again.")

Though they caught him off guard, his recovery and his doubtless expression gave Robin and the others the impression that this was a battle they could not win."This guy...I'd say he's on par with an elite shadow." Robin noted.

"You think so?" Artemis asked. _"If anything...he's even better. He might be able to even beat Dad."_ Just then, Itachi was right in her face, almost as fast as Kid Flash. "What the-!?" Artemis jumped back to aim her bow, but Itachi was right on top of her, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her against a tree.

He closed in on her again, hitting various pressure points, and Artemis went down in a heap. ("It's over...") However, though having difficulty moving, Artemis managed to raise her crossbow and fired again, managing to scratch Itachi's cheek. _"Impossible! I hit her radial nerve plexus! I'm sure of it! She shouldn't be able to move!"_

"Let her go!" Aqualad came rushing forward with a water hammer, taking a swing at Itachi but the nin ducked under it and sweeped Aqualad off his feet.

Robin leaped down from above, lining his sight with various gas bombs. Though his eyes teared up, Itachi remained firm and was able to see through the gas. "There you are!"

Itachi rushed towards the boy wonder and kicked him down. _"Ugh! I've a feeling he hits as hard as Batman does!" _

Itachi was about to finish him off, but Aqualad rushed behind him, grabbing him in a full nelson. Aqualad then charged his electricity, seemingly shocking Itachi in agony. However, Itachi suddenly exploded in his face, sending him flying into a nearby building. Had he been a normal man, Aqualad would have been severely crippled; in a way, he was lucky that he was just unconscious. The real Itachi stood before him. ("You have caught me off guard numerous times; not many have managed to do that. I wish I could spare your lives, if only for being worthy opponents. Alas, it seems it is no meant to be...") Itachi weaved his hand signs for his clan's signature jutsu. ("...for you all must die here...")

"_Get away from them!"_ Itachi felt himself being lifted by seemingly nothing as he too was slammed against the wall. Miss Martian flew over him, and looked down at the river. _"Everyone, wake up!"_ Robin and Artemis were finally back on their feet, and Aqualad came too. _"Aqualad, the shark man is drowning Superboy!" _

"Understood!" Aqualad entrusted Itachi to Miss Martian and the others as he ran to aid Superboy.

("I've almost forgotten about you...") Itachi said as he dusted himself off. ("Tell me, just where did you hide the jinchuriki?")

* * *

><p>Kisame grinned, satisfied with his work as Superboy's struggle became slower. It wasn't as easy as it looked; Superboy nearly burst open his prison several times, and it took a good portion of Kisame's strength to keep him in check. <em>"It's a shame I've got to kill him; this kid really does have potential."<em>

Just then, he felt the water pull back from behind him. _"What's this!?"_ Kisame lost his hold when he felt himself being pushed back against the wall with the force of a tidal wave. He felt his body go numb from the impact as he briefly saw Aqualad swim past him. The Atlantean quickly grabbed Superboy and Wolf under his arms and leaped up to the surface.

Aqualad wasted no time in placing his hands over Superboy's Wolf's heart and administering an electrical shock. Superboy's eyes flew open as he coughed up some water, Wolf responding the same way. "Augh! Did you have to shock me!?" he yelled.

"Would you prefer mouth to mouth CPR?" Aqualad quipped in a rare bout of sarcasm. Superboy had nothing to say to that as he just gave him an embarrassed look. "I'll handle the shark man; I believe I'm better equipped for him. You engage the other one." Aqualad ordered him.

"Right." Superboy agreed as he decided to join the fray.

"Be careful!" Aqualad called before Superboy got ahead of himself. "The other man is really good; I'd say he could give Black Canary a run for her money. Don't try to beat him, just do your best to stall him, and whatever you do, don't look into his eyes!"

"Understood!" Superboy replied as he and his pet ran off.

Aqualad turned to face Kisame again. ("I don't like it when others interfere with my prey.") the shark man warned him as he showed his fully exposed sword. Aqualad grimaced as he brandished his own weapons and charged. The two crossed swords; though they were evenly matched in terms of strength, Aqualad's smaller swords shattered in the face of Kisame's massive blade. The swordsman made a wide swing for Aqualad's head, which he ducked under to kick his opponent in the stomach. Kisame immediately retaliated with a torrent of water spewing from his mouth, which sent Aqualad flying back into a wall. The Atlantean was far from finished though; he turned his bearer into a water whip to catch his ankle, and pull him down.

Though Kisame was slightly irritated, he wasn't too mad either. In fact, he was kind of amused. Quickly, he kiyupped back up. ("Not bad, kid.") Kisame said. ("Not bad at all.")

Aqualad charged him again, this time armed with two water maces. Aqualad was fierce, but Kisame had great experience, easily countering his weapons. Suddenly, the Atlantean felt himself beginning to get tired. _"Wh-what's happening?"_ He felt his legs begin to shake. _"I-I don't get tired so easily!" _

("You've got quite a bit of chakra. Thanks for the meal.") Kisame said as he punched Aqualad in the face, sending him flying back into the river where he followed him.

Kisame decided to waste no time and drown this one. He put Aqualad in another water prison, this time increasing the pressure immediately lest he get another Superboy surprise. ("How do you like this!?") Kisame expected a similar struggle...but was met with disappointment, as Aqualad simply relaxed into a meditative position. _"What's this!? He should be drowning..."_ Just then, he noticed the gills. _"You mean he's amphibious...just like me!?"_ Kisame growled. _"Well, he's trapped either way! I'll just have to settle for a quick kill and join Itachi up on the surface!" _

He swam towards Aqualad, who waited patiently for him. _"Come on...come on..." _Aqualad thought as he sensed Kisame getting closer. As Kisame brought a kunai close to him, Aqualad grabbed his wrist and sent a shock through his system, causing the shark man to scream in pain and release Aqualad from his prison.

The Atlantean wasted no time in escaping, swimming away and turning to face him. He aimed his water bearers, forming his eel-dragon. _"Hah! I'll just absorb his chakra..."_ Kisame pointed Sadehama, but it didn't react, and the conjured water hit him full-force. As he hit the wall, he gaped at what just happened. _"Impossible! That should have absorbed his chakra! Unless...that technique didn't use any_ _chakra at all!"_ Kisame couldn't fathom how it worked, but in the end these attacks were immune to his chakra-draining sword. _"I'll have to get up close and do it the hard way!"_

Kisame immediately created sharks in the water, each swimming towards Aqualad. Aqualad sliced one, and grappled with another. This was nothing new to him; his adoptive father and sometimes even Aquaman took him shark-hunting, and had great experience wrestling the dangerous creatures. _"Amazing!"_ Aqualad thought as he ripped apart one with his bare hands. _"Not only has he controlled the shape of the water...he's given them a limited sense of consciousness!"_ One managed to bite his ankle, but Aqualad gave it a good whack with his water hammer. Suddenly, he was ambushed by Kisame, who tackled him and proceeded to give him a good pounding from there. Aqualad shook the cobwebs out of his head and punched Kisame across the face, proceeding to electrocute him. Though the ninja cried out in pain, he was soon relieved when one of his sharks grabbed Aqualad by the shoulder and dragged him away. Aqualad realized the enormity of the situation he was in; if he focused on Kisame, the sharks would kill him. But if he turned his attention elsewhere, Kisame would. Overall, he was in quite a predicament.

("I may not be able to feast on your chakra from your jutsus...") Kisame said as he got close to him. Without warning, Sadehama's tip opened up into a jaw-like mouth and bit him on the shoulder. "But I can still draw it from you physically!" Aqualad struggled to resist, but only felt himself getting weaker and weaker...

* * *

><p>Itachi sent Robin tumbling to the ground with a spinning back knuckle with ease, knocking him out. Artemis and Kid Flash were both down as well. Before he could revel in his glory, he jumped to the side to avoid a park-bench being thrown at him. Miss Martian threw more debris at him which Itachi dodged with ease. She then lifted a far-off food cart, and hurled it at him. Itachi, feeling he had enough of her games, jumped up and ran across the surface towards her. He jumped off the flying piece of debris and leaped towards her. However, Miss Martian was ready and halted him in mid-air. ("Did you really think I was going to attack you with my bear hands?") Itachi asked. Suddenly, a ball of fire straight from his mouth hit Miss Martian dead center. The Martian screamed as she plummeted down to earth in a heap, the burns scarring her body. Itachi felt whatever force was holding him up disappear as gravity reclaimed him, and unlike his brief captor, he landed on his feet perfectly.<p>

"You're going to pay for that!"

Itachi instinctively side-stepped away as Superboy's punch came from behind him. ("Too slow.") Itachi then noticed a slight pain; tracing it along his body, he realized it followed the same path as Superboy's punch._ "He barely even grazed me, yet he still managed to give me quite a bruise. Who are these guys?"_Itachi was brought out of his thoughts as Superboy lunged at him yet again, and countered with a rear horse kick. Unfortunately, the kick seemed to do Itachi more harm to him than his attacker as he felt his foot go numb and felt a sharp pain traveling up his calf. Wolf suddenly tackled him and attacked with his jaws. Itachi moved his neck from side to side, unable to stop the beast's jaws from advancing. Quickly, he got a kunai and explosive tag, slamming it into the beast's mouth. Though the metal nearly broke to pieces, the explosion sent the wolf flying back and landed in a heap, down for the count. Sphere tried to run him over again, but Itachi was easily able to roll out of the way as usual.

Superboy, rushed him from behind and gripped Itachi in a bear-hug. Though Itachi was trained to counter such amateurish maneuvers, the strength at which he gripped him surprised him. _"He's much stronger than the last! How is this possible!?"_ Suddenly, he felt Superboy spin the both of them like a merry-go-round, at some point with Superboy letting him go. Itachi tumbled across the road, leaving a trail nice sized dents and clouds of dust on the street.

* * *

><p>"He's winning!" Naruto exclaimed in joy as they watched the fight from the rooftop Miss Martian settled them onto.<p>

"Hell yeah!" Sakura agreed, pumping her fist. "As long as they've got Superboy, nothing can stop them!"

Suddenly, they heard someone groaning. As they turned around, Sakura gasped "Sasuke-kun!" and ran over to him, the boy still disoriented and having trouble sitting up.

As she supported him, Sasuke asked "Wh-what happened?" Just then, he heard the ruckus across the village, and ran towards the edge of the building. His eyes widened in realization as the memories from before he was knocked out came back to him. "ITACHI!" he screamed. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed him by the arm. "What are you doing!?" he angrily demanded.

"Stay here! They'll handle it!" Naruto yelled, not sure if even he believed what he just said.

"Sasuke-kun, please listen to him! Not even Kakashi-sensei could beat them!" Sakura pleaded.

"I SAID GET OFF!" Sasuke yelled as he pushed Naruto down and leaped down onto the street.

Quickly, his two friends went after him. It terrified them both had just how aggressive Sasuke had become; especially Naruto. He had only seen that look once before in Sasuke's eyes, years ago as kids during a sparring session. He wasn't hurt, but when he trounced Naruto, his eyes seemed to be looking elsewhere. But this...this was much more intense.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya leaped between the trees as he made his way to Konoha's outer walls, pondering the letter Kakashi had sent him via messenger hawk. Apparently some skilled and powerful youngsters had saved them on a mission, according to the letter, and needed to find a way home. Normally, the Toad Sage would have dismissed it as "not his specialty". But where Kakashi was concerned, everything was serious business. Besides, by saving him they saved Naruto as well. So, doing what he could as a courtesy would be the least he could do. <em>"I guess he'll fill me in on the details once I get there." <em>

Just then, as he landed on top of a random building in the village, he began to hear signs of a struggle. "What's going on here?" This was no training exercise...it was taking place in the village! _"It couldn't be..."_ Jiraiya tried to reason there were other possibilities. The Sand? No, their forces were devastated at this point, even if they desperately sought retaliation. Same with Orochimaru; while the details were unknown, judging by how Sarutobi-sensei died, it was likely that Orochimaru suffered a crippling blow as well. The mist swordsmen were all dead except one, and there were no other major criminal organizations within the area to mount an attack.

Which only left one possible explanation: Akatsuki! _"Oh no...they're after Naruto!"_ Jiraiya quickly picked up the pace, hoping that he wouldn't be too late...and that he could actually stand up to whoever they sent...

* * *

><p>Superboy was on the attack once more, this time trying to grab Itachi from behind. However, despite his enthusiastic charges, Itachi dodged all of his attacks with ease. <em>"It IS like sparring with Black Canary again!"<em> the Kryptonian thought in irritation.

("I see.") Itachi said monotonously. ("It seems for all your strength, you have very little knowledge on how to use it.")

("And you have no idea how to counter it!") Superboy charged with a kick, and though he left a nice crater in the street, Itachi once more side-stepped him with ease.

"_He's not quite as dumb as he looks; he's been avoiding eye contact with me the entire time."_ Itachi used a soft hand block to parry an attack coming from his side._ "They're smart; they've deduced correctly how I've defeated Kakashi..."_ Itachi back-flipped away from another kick._ "...but there's more than one way to skin a cat." _

Suddenly, Superboy managed to tackle Itachi to the ground. ("It's over!") Superboy quickly got him into an arm bar; for someone like him, breaking his arm wouldn't be a challenge. However, Itachi's body suddenly turned to wood and wrapped around Superboy. "What the-!?" Superboy struggled to no avail realizing he was caught in some kind of illusion. _"I'm really starting to hate illusions...almost as much as I hate monkeys." _

("It has been rather...intriguing, fighting you and your friends.") the real Itachi said as he came up to him. ("But I have a job to do; so I must eliminate you all.") Itachi's eyes suddenly changed; before, they were the sharingan that Sasuke possessed. But the pupils enlarged, the three points surrounding it connecting and becoming like blades, almost like a shuriken...

* * *

><p><em>Superboy saw all the colors around him become inverted. The atmosphere changed in a way he could not describe. The sky turned red...and no one but himself but Itachi were present. Superboy tried to move, only to find that he couldn't. <strong>"This is the Tsukiyomi. A genjutsu, perhaps one of the most powerful around. In this world, I control space and time." <strong>_

_Superboy gritted his teeth as he struggled to move his limbs, which were held back by apparently nothing. **"Shall I have you stabbed until you give in, like I did Kakashi?"** Itachi asked. **"No. I think this is more to your...unusual talents."** Itachi raised his hand and snapped his fingers. _

_Superboy saw from his upper peripherals what seemed to be the moon suddenly come down upon him. **"Oh sh-"** He was cut off as the entire mass of the moon crushed him underneath it's rate. He was able to take incredible blows before, but this was different. He never had a celestial body dropped on him before; he doubted even Superman could survive something like that. Realizing the enormous pain he was in, he was relieved and annoyed that he was still alive. And the moon was somehow back in it's rightful place. _

"_**I think another 48 hours should do."** Itachi seemingly slammed it on him again. The same event occurred several times, Superboy somehow miraculously surviving. He lost count of how many times it happened; it seemed to go on forever. **"As I said, in this world I control time." **Itachi explained. **"That was only 1 second. 47 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go."** Superboy's eyes widened in horror as the hits kept on coming for what seemed to be an eternity..._

* * *

><p>Superboy let out a loud gasp as his eyes widened like he was having a heart attack, and collapsed into a catatonic state, his eyes half-open but unaware. Itachi stepped away, as he massaged his temple. <em>"To force me to use my magekyo twice in one day..."<em>

"You're done with yours too?" Kisame came walking over, carrying a battered Aqualad over his shoulder where he dropped him without a care. "Shall we continue on with our mission?"

"At this point, I doubt we'll have the time." Itachi sighed. "Let's do a clean sweep of the immediate vicinity. If we cannot locate the jinchuriki, we'll have to move out."

"Right." Kisame agreed.

"ITACHI!"

The two turned around to see the youngest Uchiha face them. "Who is this kid?" Kisame asked.

At this point, Robin, Artemis and Kid Flash were awake but out of the fight. Upon seeing Sasuke, Robin panicked. "You idiot! What are you doing here!? Run!" He waved with his arm. He tried to stand, but the pain in his torso was too intense.

By then, Naruto and Sakura joined him as Sasuke's glare at Itachi only intensified. "He's my little brother." Itachi said plainly, answering his companion.

Robin's eyes widened as he listened on the conversation. _"It's beginning to make sense now..."_

"Let's go, Kisame. We're attracting enough attention as it is." Itachi said as he turned around to walk the opposite direction.

"YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!" Sasuke charged him head on, but Itachi kicked him down with ease before he even got close. Sasuke only got back up, this time armed with a kunai.

He slashed and slashed at his elder brother, but he couldn't even tear his cloak for all his rapid slashes. "You've grown." Itachi noted. "But not grown enough." Itachi elbowed his shoulder, and then sent him flying backward with a spinning kick once more.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura rushed to his side to help him up as he struggled with the pain. "Please, that's enough! You can't win!"

"Get out of my way!" he shouted as he pushed Sakura aside. Sphere tried to block him, but Sasuke jumped over it with ease as he made a few hand signs, charging up his Chidori. "I've waited for this moment for years." he snarled as the lightning in his hand crackled. "And I'll be damned if I let you slip away again! After all you've done! To the clan! To our parents! And all just to test out your damned eyes!?"

He charged, dragging his Chidori across the ground like it was made of paper. He lunged at Itachi...and his Chidori stopped in mid-air. Itachi had stepped forward to grab his elbow, halting his attack. "Not enough." he said.

He squeezed, dislocating his brother's elbow. "Auughhh!" Sasuke cried.

Itachi tripped up Sasuke's feet, and slammed him onto the ground. He leaned in close, whispering into his ear. "You don't hate me enough. And you know what? You never will." He slammed Sasuke down on the ground once more, knocking him out.

He then looked to both Naruto and Sakura, both trembling in fear. "Now, Naruto. It is time..." He lunged forward...and jumped back when a giant toad fell from the sky blocked his path.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?" Kid Flash yelled in horror.

Robin, KF, Artemis, M'gann and the two remaining ninja looked up to see on top of the toad was a large man with white hair. He balanced himself and hopped on one leg, spread his arms out and swung his head like a wild man. "Prepare yourselves! For now, you face the wrath of Jiraiya!" he yelled.

Robin's eye only quirked. "What, the, hell?" he asked in disbelief upon witnessing the stranger.

"Jiraiya." Itachi said, still calm but ready to make a break for it. "I didn't expect you to arrive here."

"Had some business to take care of, and I didn't expect you. So, the feeling's mutual." Jiraiya said, dropping his goofy attitude.

He then looked back to Naruto, who was also surprised to see him. "E-ero-senin!"

"You know him!?" Sakura asked.

"Move. We have business with the boy." Itachi demanded.

"You'll have to get through me first!" Jiraiya made his hand signs.

Suddenly, the kids were all surrounded by a fleshy mass that expanded from the ground. "EW! GROSS!" Sakura exclaimed before the red flesh cocooned her.

Once everyone was encased, Jiraiya leaped off his toad and engaged Itachi in Taijutsu. The two were just about even, although Jiraiya had a size advantage over him, forcing Itachi on the defensive. Kisame was about to charge with his weapon, but another toad blocked it with his gauntlet.

"More ninja are on their way, soon." Jiraiya taunted him.

Itachi broke off. "Kisame! We're leaving! Now!" Kisame grunted in frustration, but knew it was not wise to attack a sanin directly.

Quickly, they bolted in the opposite direction. "Oh no you don't!" Jiraiya made a few hand signs, and suddenly the same fleshy substance closed in around them.

"This is bad, Itachi!" Kisame yelled.

"Leave it to me." He once more activated his Magekyo Sharingan. Just when the substance closed in on them, it exploded from the inside, the two agents leaping free into the open as they made their retreat. The flesh they left behind began to burn with black flames.

Jiraiya growled in frustration. "Damn, they got away. I should have known Itachi would have such a trick up his sleeve." He deactivated his jutsu, the flesh seemingly receding back into the earth.

Everyone still conscious was relieved to be free of the flesh; Sakura in particular was about to scream hysterics and shake her body like mad, but realized to her great relief that she was still dry. "Oh thank kami."

As Robin and the others wondered what just happened, Naruto instead proceeded to confront the old hermit. "Ero-senin!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

"That's something Kakashi needs to explain to me." Jiraiya said, giving him an annoyed look. "Now be quiet, I've got to seal these flames." Jiraiya pulled out a scroll, made his hand signs, and opened it. The black flames then disappeared into the scroll. "There."

"Couldn't you have just put some water over those flames?" Naruto asked.

"You really are an idiot!" Jiraiya sighed. "Those were no ordinary flames; nothing can extinguish them. Only be sealed away." he explained.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, realizing her question from before was unanswered. "W-who is he?"

"Him?" Naruto asked. "Oh. Just some perverted old geezer."

Jiraiya growled and clocked Naruto on the head. "You idiot! When will you ever learn! I am the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya!" he exclaimed, making his usual exaggerated movements.

Sakura's eyes widened. "T-This is Jiraiya!?"

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto asked.

"So what!? He's one of the Legendary Sanin!" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief. "How in the hell did you come to know him!?"

"So he says..." Naruto replied. "I still don't think he's that great."

"Whatever." Jiraiya sighed, looking away. "I'll talk sense into you later. Right now, where's Kakashi?"

Naruto's eyes widened, then softened. "He's...he's not well."

Jiraiya only looked at him. "He looked into Itachi's eyes, didn't he?"

"Far as I can tell." Naruto answered.

Jiraiya sighed. "I've heard of that jutsu. It's deadly. Not even the best genjutsu users can break out of it."

"Kakashi-sensei's on a roof a few blocks from here." Sakura said. "Can you help him?"

"Afraid not." Jiraiya sighed. "The only one who can help him...would be Tsunade."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, just keep your mouth shut." Jiraiya sighed. "But Kakashi said that there were some...kids...who needed my help finding their home." Jiraiya sighed with disgust this time.

"Uh...yeah." Robin got up grunting, finally able to move. "That would be us." he emphasized.

Jiraiya studied him for a moment before folding his arms, seeing quite clearly he wasn't from around here. "Well, it doesn't look like Kakashi is going to wake up anytime soon. I guess you'll have to explain your situation to me."

* * *

><p>After Jiraiya listened to Robin, he only sat with the most dumbfounded look on his face as he folded his arms and sat down. For the longest time, he said nothing. Then ("...I don't believe you.") he finally replied.<p>

Robin sighed. ("Unfortunately, I can't blame you. But it's the truth.")

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. ("Still, you seem sincere enough...") Jiraiya finally sat up. ("And you're sure? About the cloaks and everything?")

After giving him the translation, Wally replied "Tell him I'm sure. The guy had a cloak with red clouds on. Superboy would confirm that...if he were even awake."

Indeed, while the others have regained consciousness, Superboy remained in a catatonic state. "Miss Martian." Aqualad said as the alien cradled their toughest member. "You said you may be able to heal the damage?"

"I don't know." Miss Martian answered honestly. "But I'll try."

Miss Martian knelt, clutching onto his temples and pressing her forehead against his while the others looked on in anticipation. She opened her green, glowing eyes as her hair fluttered about her, with no apparent aid from the wind. Then, the dirt around her began to hover and swirl around her. "Oh jeez." Artemis breathed. "It's that bad?"

"Apparently." Kid Flash responded, also equally in awe.

Jiraiya and the other ninja, however, were stunned speechless. _"I'm starting to think they're not so crazy after all..." _

Just when it seemed Miss Martian was about to start an F1 tornado, she finally calmed down. Superboy suddenly groaned. "Oh...my head..." Superboy massaged his head and began to sit up.

"Conner!" Miss Martian hugged her arms around him, and buried her face into the back of his neck.

Superboy looked around lethargically, finally coming to realize M'gann helped him out of it. "Thanks..." He stroked her hair reassuringly. The others ran to help Superboy up. "Sorry, Kaldur..." Superboy began.

"No need." Aqualad reassured him. "There was nothing you could have done; I didn't fare much better against mine."

As the Kryptonian was helped to his feet, Naruto approached Miss Martian. ("Hey! Can you fix Kakashi-sensei now?")

Miss Martian suddenly buckled, now needing support from Superboy. Realizing their link was down, Superboy translated for her. "I...I don't think I can. Not now anyways." she gasped.

When Naruto was given the reply, he screamed ("WHAT!?")

("Naruto!") Sakura scolded him. ("Can't you see she's exhausted!?")

Naruto looked up at her, and realized she was; she was panting heavily, and breathing profusely. She had enough strength to explain it telepathically. _"Whatever happened, Superboy's mind was pushed to it's limits. It's like the equivalent of pulling a muscle; I was doing 'surgery' so to speak. It's not easy, and quite frankly it's an uphill battle."_ she explained.

"Here." Superboy helped Miss Martian over to a park bench that was miraculously untouched, setting her down.

("So...") Naruto began.

Miss Martian smiled. "I may be able to help Kakashi as soon as tomorrow." she declared, to which Superboy gave him the answer.

Naruto smiled in relief. ("Great!")

("Well, I guess then I don't need to try quite as hard to find the next Hokage.") Jiraiya commented.

("What?") Naruto asked.

("Tsunade would've been able to heal both of them. But I guess that's unnecessary with this girl around. Oh well; I have other reasons for bringing her.")

("You mean...") Sakura began. ("...you're about to elect her as Hokage?")

("Precisely.") Jiraiya smiled. ("She's perfect for the job. Only problem is...I don't know where she is.")

Robin sighed after hearing the conversation. "Well, this is just perfect." Robin growled as he threw his arms up. "The one guy who can help us is too busy finding the next village leader, and doesn't even know where to begin to look for our way home!"

Superboy straightened up. "Actually..." he began. "...this might work in our favor."

"What?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yes, I see..." Aqualad said as he finished his deep thoughts. "If we go with him, we may be able to explore the countryside, maybe even pick up on some clues for our way back home."

Robin's scowl slowly turned upside down. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!?" Robin approached him. ("Okay. Just give us a few hours, and we'll be on our way...")

("Sorry, but no.") Jiraiya said, holding up his hand. ( "Look, I want to help you. But my village comes first. I can't get distracted right now, and even if we focused on looking for her, taking you all at once will attract too much attention. I can't risk having other people come looking for her, and if she gets word of a strange crowd trying to find her, she'll bolt.")

Those fluent in Japanese only looked at him in silence; those who weren't had a feeling he didn't say any good news. ("It sounds like she doesn't even want this job...") Artemis commented.

("I know her pretty well.") Jiraiya confirmed. ("She's...complicated. But she is the best person for the job, and I know I can convince her to take it.")

("Then how about this.") Superboy approached him. ("I have a way of getting you to wherever you need to go faster. It will just be me and Kid Flash, along with you. We can hide our mode of transportation wherever you need, and we can keep quiet.")

Jiraiya thought about it for a minute...then, albeit reluctantly, nodded his head. ("Okay then. I guess we can give this arrangement a try.")

Superboy then explained his plan to Kid Flash. "Why me?"

"Because, in the unlikely event we do discover a portal, it doesn't mean it will stay open long enough for us to get through. Not all of us. If that happens, we'll need you to go through it. At least that way, The League may be able to find out a way to reach the rest of us from the other side."

"Oh." Kid Flash said, scratching the back of his head. "I get it. Okay, then! Let's go!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Hold it!" Artemis suddenly interrupted as she gripped his shoulder. "You can't go! Not yet!"

"Whaddya-OW!" Wally noticed his cast was bleeding, fresh from the wound Itachi inflicted upon him.

"Come on." Artemis said, tugging on his arm gently. "We need to get this fixed up before you go."

* * *

><p>Jiraiya had seen many strange things in his life. These new kids were topping the list. But even that couldn't prepare him for this. ("Uh...just what IS this thing? And how is it supposed to act as a mode of transportation?") he said, eying a large metal ball that seemed to be alive.<p>

Superboy gave him his infamous glare. ("HER name is Sphere. She is a machine with many modes. One of which is a Super-cycle mode.")

("Super-cycle?") As if on command, the metal ball unfolded into some kind of vehicle. Jiraiya would have guessed it to be some kind of bicycle, but he could see this wasn't the type of vehicle you peddled. ("Just...just how fast is this thing?")

("We don't know her full potential yet; I don't like to push her unless it's an emergency. But I have gotten her up to Mach 1 in my spare time." )

("Mach 1?") Jiraiya asked perplexed.

Realizing the terminology was lost on him, Superboy explained ("In our world, that's our terminology for the Speed of Sound.") Jiraiya only looked at him with wide eyes. ("Don't worry; we're not going to go that fast. Maybe a tenth that speed." )

Jiraiya looked around, tapping his foot nervously. ("Fine.") he sighed. ("Just not too fast, okay? Besides, I plan on bringing Naruto with me.")

Superboy looked at him quizzically. ("Why?")

("There's been something I wanted to teach him. I planned on dragging him with me while we were on foot." )

("You really think you'll have time to teach him something at a time like this?") Superboy asked skeptically.

("I hope I can have him get down the basics of the jutsu at least.") Jiraiya replied.

Superboy rolled his eyes. ("Whatever. As long as you focus on the task at hand.")

("Okay then. Give me a few minutes to talk to him.") Jiraiya told him as he walked off to find Naruto.

"So...we good to go?" Superboy turned around to find Wally approaching him, Artemis walking right next to him.

Superboy then eyed his cast; it was covered in even more bandages and placed into a sling. Superboy looked straight at Artemis. "What?!" she snapped. "It was the best I could do!"

"Sorry." Superboy held his arms up in defense. "Clearly though, you're no doctor." he elaborated

"Hey, let's not worry about it." Wally interrupted. "We go back home and I'll get it fixed up again. Besides, isn't this new Hokage or whatever you call supposed to be a healer? Maybe she'll fix me up!" he smiled.

Superboy only quirked an eyebrow to that. "Uh, realistically, I don't think she'll be able to do much."

"Hey. Every little bit helps!" Wally replied, refusing to lose enthusiasm.

After a few minutes, Jiraiya returned with Naruto, who was packed and ready to go. The boy looked eager, and kept asking the hermit exciting questions. Or dumb ones, to be more accurate. ("So, what exactly are you going to teach me this time!?") the blonde asked excitedly. ("The Sky Walk? Ooh, maybe the fire walk!")

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. ("There are no such things.") Taking a deep breath to regain his patience, he sighed. ("What I plan on teaching you is a jutsu created by the Yodaime Hokage.")

("COOL!") Naruto exclaimed.

("And as I promised you, it's much better than Chidori.") Jiraiya reminded him.

("Okay then.") Superboy said as he approached the two. ("Are we ready to go?")

("I'm ready!") Naruto shouted excitedly. ("We just had to drop off Kakashi and Sasuke at the hospital and get a few things!)

Superboy mounted his Supercycle, as Kid Flash and the two ninja squeezed into the sidecar. "Kaldur, you know how to take care of Wolf, right?"

"I'll do my best." The Atlantean replied. "And good luck."

"We'll be seeing you later." Robin said. "But don't take too long, okay? He seems..." Robin tried to choose his next words carefully, even if he was speaking in English. "...distractable."

"What do you mean?" Superboy asked.

"...Just keep an eye on him." Robin repeated.

"Remember, KF. No more fighting bullshit until your arm gets healed, okay?" Artemis scolded him.

"I got it, jeez!" Kid Flash groaned. "SB, are we ready to go now?"

"Yeah."

"_Conner."_ Miss Martian contacted him telepathically. _"Stay safe." _

Superboy gave her the faintest of smiles. _"Don't worry. I will."_ He revved Sphere's engine, and the cycle took off into the sky.

* * *

><p>("YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THIS THING WOULD GO UP IN THE AIR!") Jiraiya yelled as the cycle flew well above the tree-line, his hands clutching the sides of the vehicle as if his life depended upon it.<p>

( "Sorry.") Superboy replied. ("Should have thought of telling you that.")

("Oh, come on, Ero-senin!") Naruto replied, smiling with glee as he looked around. ("THIS IS AWESOME!")

("We're a good ways from Konoha.") Superboy said. ("Got any ideas on where to stop first?")

("There's a town, about 50 km from here in that direction.") Jiraiya pointed. ("That's as good a place as any to start.") Just then, he began to weave back and fourth slightly, his breathing getting deeper.

"Uh, you okay there?" Kid Flash asked, forgetting about the language barrier.

("I think I'm going to be sick.") Jiraiya said just before the inevitable happened.

A terrible, retching sound echoed throughout the skyline, and 3 people, one in Japanese and two in English, said the same thing. "AW MAN!"

* * *

><p>So, there you have it! The hunt for Tsunade with Superboy and Kid Flash shall begin! Sadly...not for a long time. Sorry. I really can't say when this will be updated; I've got so much on my plate as it is. But I hope you enjoyed what I did put down! See you all later!<p> 


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